A piece of concrete slab that fell from this portion of the Interstate 64 bridge near Dunbar is the subject of a lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court. Clendenin resident Robert Hiskey Jr. alleges he was traumatized when the slab not only nearly killed him, but killed co-worker Jon Beatty on Aug. 22, 2007. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)

A piece of concrete slab that fell from this portion of the Interstate 64 bridge near Dunbar is the subject of a lawsuit filed in Kanawha Circuit Court. Clendenin resident Robert Hiskey Jr. alleges he was traumatized when the slab not only nearly killed him, but killed co-worker Jon Beatty on Aug. 22, 2007. (Photo by Lawrence Smith)

CHARLESTON - An industrial accident that killed one co-worker, and nearly killed him two years ago, has prompted a lawsuit from a Kanawha County man alleging he was emotional traumatized by the incident.

Robert Hiskey Jr. of Clendenin filed suit in Kanawha Circuit Court against Brayman Construction. In his suit filed on Aug. 6, Hiskey, 52, alleges the Saxonburg, Pa.-based company created an unsafe working condition in August 2007 when a large concrete slab collapsed killing a co-worker above him.

According to court records, Hiskey was employed by Brayman to aid in the construction of the new Interstate 64 bridge over the Kanawha River connecting Dunbar and South Charleston. Hiskey's role in the project is not stated.

However, on Aug. 22, 2007, Hiskey alleges he complained to supervisors, including the project's foreman, Larry Shock, that the method they were using to lay a piece of concrete on one of the piers was "untenable and overly dangerous." Those concerns, he alleges, went unheeded.

Sometime thereafter, the slab fell, killing Jon Beatty. When this occurred, Hiskey said he was "in a zone of danger, beside and below" Beatty.

Though Hiskey's suit does not state exactly where the accident occurred, Beatty's death certificate lists it as happening along the 100 block of Dunbar Avenue in Dunbar. According to his death certificate, Beatty, a resident of Punxsutawney, Pa., died almost instantly from being crushed by the slab.

Records show his death occurred the day before his 47th birthday.

According to Hiskey's suit, the slab fell as a result of the crane holding it being overloaded, and too much slack in one of the wires. The fall, Hiskey says, was "easily avoidable in that steel turnbuckles could have been used, [and] 'dead men' could have been placed on either side of the form."

Regardless, Hiskey says Brayman's failure to prevent the collapse of the slab resulted in a deliberate exposure to an unsafe working condition. Both Beatty's death, and his near-death experience has resulted in Hiskey suffering emotional distress, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress disorder and fear of working at heights.

The latter specifically, Hiskey alleges, has caused him "lost earnings, both temporary and permanent."

In November, Beatty's widow, Debra, as administratrix of his estate, filed a wrongful death suit in Kanawha Circuit Court against Brayman and Dick Corp. which sold Brayman the slab. The case is still pending.

Following Beatty's death, the Charleston Gazette reported Brayman paid the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration $39,000 in fines.

In his suit, Hiskey seeks unspecified damages. He is represented by Charleston attorney and former Kanawha County Prosecutor Michael T. Clifford.

The case is assigned to Judge Louis H. "Duke" Bloom.

Kanawha Circuit Court, Case No. 09-C-1433