HUNTINGTON – A former City of Huntington employee says he was severely injured on the job by an improperly made hydraulic hose.
Terry M. Steele of Huntington filed his complaint in federal court against Genuine Parts Company.
According to the complaint, Steele worked as a mechanic for the City of Huntington at the city garage. Genuine Parts operates a private store inside the city garage to help maintain the city’s fleet of equipment.
In its answer filed last month, the defendant denies the allegations.
Steele says the store maintained a hose-making tool to assemble new hoses on site. That includes hydraulic hoses.
On December 19, 2019, Steele says he and his supervisor James Pelfrey were working on a large rubber-tired end loader. The hydraulic hose line for the bucket was worn and needed replaced, so Pelfrey went to the Genuine Parts store in the garage to have a new hose made and assembled.
When installing the new hose with Pelfrey, Steele says he noticed a leak near one of the fittings. So, he told the operator to shut the machine down.
“Almost immediately after the machine was shut down, the new hose blew up in plaintiff’s face as he was inspecting the leak,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff was thrown backward into a firetruck that was in the bay. The high-pressure hydraulic fluid hit plaintiff in the face, eyes and skin resulting in serious, permanent and disabling injuries, including but not limited to permanent vision loss an impairment, concussion, migraines and headaches, eye pain, memory/cognitive deficits and psychological impairment.”
The complaint says a post-incident investigation confirmed the Genuine Parts employee improperly assembled the hose, using the wrong size fitting on the end of the hose that broke loose. It also says this wasn’t the first time a hose had been improperly assembled and failed.
Steele accuses Genuine Parts of negligence.
In addition to the physical injuries, Steele says he suffered extreme physical pain and suffering, mental anguish and suffering, permanent physical impairment, permanent psychological impairment, loss of wages and benefits, loss of future earning capacity and benefits, loss of capacity to enjoy life, medical expenses, annoyance, inconvenience and other damages.
He seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
The complaint says Genuine Parts Company does business as NAPA Auto Parts, but the company’s answer says Genuine Parts is a separate and distinct legal entity from NAPA, which stands for National Automotive Parts Association. Genuine Parts owns more than 1,100 NAPA stores, but the rest of the more than 6,000 NAPA stores are independently owned.
Steele is being represented by J. Ryan Stewart of Bailey Javins & Carter in Charleston. Genuine Parts is represented by S. Christopher Collier and C. William Knapp of Hawkins Parnell & Young in Charleston. The case has been assigned to District Judge Robert C. Chambers.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:21-cv-643