CHARLESTON – A Mingo County man says coworkers made fun of him while working as a flagger for Frontier Communications.
Andrew Brewer of Lenore filed his complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Citizens Telecommunications Company of West Virginia doing business as Frontier Communications of West Virginia, Frontier West Virginia Inc, Chase Rittenhouse and Joshua Carpenter.
According to the complaint, Brewer was hired in September 2021 by Superior Pocahontas, which contracts with Frontier to provide labor for certain jobs. He worked as a flagger for Frontier on most days.
From July 2022 until August 2023, Brewer claims Rittenhouse and Carpenter repeatedly sprayed him with high-powered dog repellent used by Frontier employees for protection from dog attacks. This allegedly caused burning sensations on Brewer's skin which worsened as he worked and sweated. Brewer also claims the men continually ridiculed his speech impediment and his girlfriend who suffers from cystic fibrosis.
Brewer says he was unable to seek medical treatment for the skin issues because he lacked insurance coverage provided by his employer and personal financial constraints. He further alleges that Carpenter, acting as Frontier’s crew leader, threatened him with termination or removal from the crew if he reported their actions.
Brewer finally reported these incidents to his supervisor Dana Adkins on July 31, 2023. Following this report, he was moved off the crew with the individual defendants on August 3, 2023.
He accuses the defendants of civil battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent staffing, negligent training, negligent retention and general negligence.
Brewer seeks compensatory damages for his injuries, pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses, impairment of ability to enjoy life, accrued loss of earnings, permanent impairment of earning capacity and loss of consortium. He also seeks punitive damages, interest and other relief.
He is being represented by Nathan D. Brown and Joshua S. Ferrell of Ferrell & Brown in Williamson.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-1051
