CHARLESTON – A man says he was permanently injured when the lawnmower he was using at work overturned on him.
Timothy B. Mosteller of South Charleston filed his complaint July 25 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Royal Property Management Inc.
According to the complaint, Mosteller was employed by Royal Property Management as a laborer. His typical job duties included weed eating and cutting grass. His direct supervisors were Thomas Moffat and Jeffrey Roy.
Mosteller says the Kanawha County Board of Education contracted with the company for facility and lawn maintenance, including cutting grass and weed eating. He says Royal Property Management uwned and used a Spartan GT Zero Turn Mower with Roll-Over Protection Structure for that job. The roll-over protection is meant to protect the operator if the mower rolls over on slopes or grades.
“Defendant regularly engaged in the unsafe common practice of operating the subject mower with the ROPS down and not engaged in the upright position as designed by the manufacturer for convenience purpores so the subject mower could be traversed under low hanging limbs and branches,” the complaint states.
On July 26, 2020, Mosteller says he was assigned to work with Moffat to cut grass and trim weeds at the soccer fields at the old DuPont High Schol in Belle. He says Moffat told him to use the mower while Moffat used a weed eater even though Mosteller says he never had operated the mower and never had mowed that field.
He says the defendant failed to provide him with any training related to the mower and did not inform him that it was equipped with the roll-over protection structure, did not show him how to engage the system and did not provide him with a copy of the operator’s manual.
As he was mowing on a slope near West 22nd Street, the mower overturned and caused serious injuries to Mosteller. Those permanent and disabling injuries include crushing disc fractures, disc herniation resulting in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery and allograft, post-traumatic headaches and traumatic brain injury with impairment of memory.
Mosteller says he also has suffered extreme phyiscal pain and suffering, extreme mental anguish and suffering, permanent physical impairment, lost wages and benefits, loss of future earning capacity and benefits, loss of capacity to enoy life, past and future medical expenses, permament scarring and disfigurement, annoyance and inconvenience.
He accuses Royal Property Management of deliberate intent, He seeks compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Mosteller is being represented by J. Ryan Stewart of Bailey Javins & Carter in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 22-C-602