CHARLESTON – A Lincoln County man is suing after he was severely injured when he fell more than 30 feet from the roof of St. Francis Hospital while working on the building’s HVAC unit.
Joseph Scott Lude and Madison Hope Lude filed the complaint October 11 in Kanawha Circuit Court against West Virginia University Medical Corporation, Casto Technical Services Inc. and a John Doe defendant. WVU Medical Corporation owns St. Francis.
Lude was an employee of Casto as an apprentice HVAC technician on July 1 when the incident occurred.
diTrapano
“This is a tragic case where a young man was crippled for life by the complete ineptitude and incompetence of those responsible for his safety,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “We are looking forward to litigating this case.”
According to the complaint, Lude and a co-worker were performing preventative maintenance on the HVAC unit at St. Francis. He was on the roof to clean coils in the cooling unit.
The roof lacked any guardrails, guardrail system, safety net system, travel restraint system or personal fall arrest system, according to the complaint. It says Lude was not provided any fall protection. He had a hose connected to a sink inside the building.
“Mr. Lude proceeded to back up, not realizing there was a cut-off portion of the roof behind him,” the complaint states. “Mr. Lude suddenly and without warning fell through the opening more than 30 feet down to the ground.
“Mr. Lude fell onto a concrete walkway, suffering severe and permanent injuries to his spine and legs.”
He was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center’s General Hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit. He was diagnosed with L2 burst fracture with retropulsion and severe canal stenosis and several other bone fractures. He had to undergo invasive surgery to place hardware in his back and feet.
Lude says he suffered catastrophic, permanent, debilitating and life-altering injuries.
He says the defendants failed to install or implement fall protection programs and systems on the roof, which is a violation of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. He also says they failed to provide him with a personal fall-arrest system and provided access to the unguarded and dangerous roof.
Lude accuses WVU Medical and the John Doe defendant of failure to oversee, inspect and warn him of the dangers associated with working on the roof of the building. He also accuses Casto Technical Services of deliberate intent. His wife sues all of the defendants for loss of consortium.
The Ludes seek compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning capacity, lost benefits, lost homemaker services, mental and physical pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, embarrassment, aggravation, annoyance, inconvenience and permanent physical scarring. They also seek pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs and other relief as well as punitive damages from WVU Medical.
Lude is being represented by diTrapano and Timothy D. Houston of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-1134