CHARLESTON – The parents of a Charleston child has sued Dick’s Sporting Goods after the boy was injured Saturday when a piece of weightlifting equipment fell on him in the store.
Fred Crozier and Taylor Roeder, parents of the boy identified as A.C., filed the complaint November 4 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Dick’s.
The incident occurred November 2 at the Dick’s store on RHL Boulevard in the Southridge shopping area of Charleston.
Cary
| Courtesy photo
“This child and his family deserve justice after such a terrifying and traumatic experience while shopping for wrestling gear at Dick’s,” attorney Michael Cary told The West Virginia Record. “Safety of the customers and all who enter its establishment should be a top priority for any business, and we will work diligently to ensure all who were negligent are held accountable.”
According to the complaint, the father and boy were shopping for items for an upcoming wrestling tournament when the boy reached for a 58-pound Body-Solid Open Trap Bar. The complaint says the bar was unsecured and unattended when the bar fell on the 40-pound child, crushing his head and face and pinning him underneath its weight.
The incident resulted in the boy having extreme bruising, swelling and multiple stitches to his left eye.
“Crozier reported the incident to the employees of the defendant,” the complaint states. “A.C.’s eye began swelling and gushing blood immediately after being trapped, therefore the plaintiff was transported by an ambulance to Charleston Area Medical Center Women’s and Children’s Hospital Emergency Department to seek immediate care.”
The complaint says the boy will need further medical care to ensure proper healing of his eye.
The parents accuse Dick’s of negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and premises liability. They seek compensatory damages as well as attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Cary of Cary Law Office in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Dave Hardy.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-1225