CHARLESTON – A well-known Kanawha County educator, coach and school board member and his wife have sued Sam’s Club for injuries she sustained at the store.
Marilyn and Jim Crawford filed their complaint March 1 against Sam’s Club and Kristen Leonberg. Leonberg is the general manager of the Sam’s Club location at Southridge Center in South Charleston.
According to the complaint, the Crawfords were shopping at Sam’s on December 7, 2021. They say heavy unsecured tables fell into an aisle, hitting Marilyn Crawford. She was injured and thrown to the concrete floor during the incident.
Crawford
Marilyn Crawford broke both of her wrists in the incident, and her head struck the concrete floor. She says she has suffered permanent physical injuries, mental anguish, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and has incurred medical expenses.
Jim Crawford says he has suffered a loss of society, comfort, protection, services and support of his wife. He says he has had to care for his wife, who was in good health before the incident, and will have to continue to take care of her for the rest of her life.
The Crawfords seek compensatory damages. They are being represented by Truman Chafin, Tish Chafin and Stacey Kohari of The Chafin Law Firm in Williams. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Crawford has served on the Kanawha County Board of Education for more than 20 years. He is a retired teacher and coach from St. Albans High School. He also has served as president of the West Virginia School Boards Association and on the board of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-156