Archive for October, 2007
1Couple files wrongful death suit against Richland County
5 October 2007
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MANSFIELD — The parents of a county road maintenance worker who died a year ago have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Richland County.
Larry W. Arnold, 41, of Fredericktown, was crushed to death Sept. 18, 2006, while working near a hydraulic excavator on Mock Road, near Ohio 546. He was part of a crew from the Bellville outpost of the county engineer’s office.
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The maintenance worker’s parents, Richard H. and Helen L. Arnold, say their son was trying to solve a mechanical problem with a malfunctioning motor when he was fatally injured.
They contend the engineer’s office failed to properly service the excavator microswitch when identical problems with the component cropped up several weeks earlier.
The lawsuit also claims supervisors didn’t try to stop Arnold’s crew from working in hazardous locations around the excavator or warn them against hazards involved.
Richland County Commissioners and County Engineer Tom Beck were named as defendants in the lawsuit, filed in Richland County Common Pleas Court, just short of the anniversary of Arnold’s death.
Commissioner Ed Olson said the county’s liability coverage is through the County Risk Sharing Authority, a self-insurance pool used by a large number of Ohio counties.
CORSA generally refers defense of counties named as defendants in civil actions to a Columbus law firm, but no attorney from that firm has been assigned to the case.
The Arnolds say the county road crew was using a Gradall G3WD hydraulic excavator to move gravel when the motor began to repeatedly slow down and rev up. Work crew members tried to fix the problem by standing near the side of the excavator and tapping on or striking the microswitch, a method that worked only briefly, according to the lawsuit.
According to the Arnolds, their son walked to a location behind the driver’s cab to deal with the malfunctioning motor, when the operator — unable to see him — swung the boom around to dump a load into a dump truck. The 41-year-old got caught between the cab and the upper counterweight on the excavator and was crushed.
The Arnolds, who are administering their son’s estate, are seeking $25,000 or more in compensatory damages, along with other damages a jury might award.
Arnold had been employed with the agency since 2004.