WILLIAMSON – The estate of Mingo County man says an accident caused by a contractor’s truck led to the man’s “excruciating” death.
Heather Dentro, administratrix of the estate of Cody Baisden, filed her complaint August 9 in Mingo Circuit Court against Hawkeye Contracting Company.
According to the complaint, Baisden was driving December 23, 2021, on West Virginia 65 near Lenore in Mingo County when a truck owned by Hawkeye was transporting heavy equipment as the company was doing work for Coal-Mac LLC, an underground mining company.
The complaint says the truck with the oversized load was speeding left of center, causing it to collide with Baisden’s vehicle. The vehicles hit with such great force that the accident cut Baisden’s left leg off, causing him to bleed to death and “die an excruciating death at the scene of the accident.”
The complaint says the load was unsafe to transport on roads in West Virginia.
The estate accuses Hawkeye of negligence and inherently dangerous activity. It seeks compensatory damages for sorrow, mental anguish, solace, past and future earnings, past and future services and assistance, medical care, future medical or psychiatric care of Baisden’s beneficiaries, funeral costs and other damages. It also seeks punitive damages, court costs, attorney fees and other expenses.
The estate is being represented by Truman Chafin, Tish Chafin and Stacey Kohari of The Chafin Law Firm in Williamson. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Miki Thompson.
Mingo Circuit Court case number 23-C-96