CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County man says he was burned on the job because of negligence by his employer and Toyota Motor Manufacturing.
Brian R. Martin filed his complaint April 20 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia Inc., Nitro Construction Services Inc. and a John Doe defendant.
According to the complaint, Martin was employed by Nitro Construction Services from 2015 to March 2023 when he was terminated.
diTrapano
On May 8, 2021, he was working for NCS at Toyota’s plant in Putnam County and was assigned the task of installing a bus plug and disconnect on a 480-volt electrical line. As he performed the task, he shut down electric power to attach the plug and disconnect. He repowered the line so machines on the electrical line were not down for more than a short period of time.
After he turned the power back on, Martin began drilling a one-inch hole through the disconnect box. While doing so, the piece of cut out circular metal fell and hit the main power line, causing an arc flash that burned more than 30 percent of his body.
He was fired by NCS in March 2023 because the company was going back to work at Toyota, which refused to allow him on the premises.
Martin accuses Toyota and the John Doe defendant of negligence and failure to oversee, inspect and train. He also accuses NCS of deliberate intent because it knew of specific unsafe working conditions and the high degree of risk and probability of serious injury or death, which is a violation of OSHA regulations.
He seeks compensatory damages for medical expenses, lost wages, lost homemaker services, mental and physical pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, embarrassment, aggravation, annoyance, inconvenience and permanent physical scarring. He also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
Martin is being represented by L. Dante diTrapano and Timothy D. Houston of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by Michael J. Del Giudice of Ciccarello Del Giudice & LaFon in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-340