Representative Cases

Trucking Collision - (Video- High version) - In 2002, the operator of a tractor-trailer encroached the turn lane of a state highway at a high rate of speed, clipping another vehicle. The tractor trailer careened out of control and tipped on its side. The tractor trailer slid down the highway and crossed over into oncoming traffic causing a violent collision and pileup. Our client was operating one of the vehicles in the collision. Our client sustained serious and permanent personal injuries which resulted in a 38 day hospitalization. The injuries included a displaced fracture of the neck of the left femur, a non-displaced fracture of the anterior medial plateau in the right knee, a posterior horn tear of the medial meniscus in the left knee, a rotator cuff strain in the left shoulder, and a nonunion of the hip fracture which resulted in a left hip arthroplasty. Our client suffered recurrent dislocations of the left hip which required a revision and replacement of the arthroplasty. The medical bills exceeded $300,000 and the victim suffers from a 30% permanent physical impairment. The sequence and the causes of the collision were dramatically illustrated in a computer generated animation. An excellent settlement was achieved through mediation.

Automobile Collision - In 2003, the driver of a large SUV lost control of his vehicle, crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a small car driven by a young mother and occupied by her three small children. The mother was killed instantly and all three children suffered severe and debilitating spinal cord injuries.

The 6 year old sustained a C3/C4 spinal cord injury, L2/L3 flexion distraction injury, and abdominal trauma with rupture of the jejunum, sigmoid and mesentery. The 4 year girl sustained a spinal cord injury and abdominal trauma with jejunal resection. The 2 year old sustained a spinal cord injury, bilateral femoral fractures, cauda equina contusion, C3 endplate injury, bilateral pelvic wing fractures, and bilateral basal skull fractures with small left subdural hematoma.

Our lawyers immediately retained accident reconstruction specialists, surveyed the scene, and instituted claims against the negligent driver. The driver's insurance company settled the case prior to trial and our lawyers worked to see that special needs trusts were set up, thereby assuring that the three children had a specially designed home, handicapped transportation, continued care, and specialized educational opportunities.

Motorcycle Accident - In 2000, our clients, husband and wife, took a short ride on their 1976 Harley Davidson motorcycle. An underinsured motor vehicle driver crossed the centerline and rammed into the motorcycle in a head-on collision. The driver's leg was ripped from the hip and embedded in the grill of the motor vehicle. The passenger was thrown from the motorcycle and her left leg was sheared off. Both driver and passenger were evacuated by helicopter to the local trauma center. The driver was pronounced dead on arrival. The passenger underwent emergency surgery which resulted in the amputation of her left leg above the knee. Aggressive and creative lawyering led to a recovery in excess of the original policy limits.

Motorcycle Accident - Our client was enjoying a Sunday afternoon motorcycle ride with his wife when an elderly lady pulled onto the highway from a side road and into the path of the oncoming motorcycle. Our client was severely injured, spending months in the hospital and in rehab facilities. His wife died at the scene. Claims were prosecuted against the negligent driver and against our client's own first party underinsured motorist coverage for the injuries to our client and the death of his wife. Our firm was successful in obtaining waivers of all significant medical bills from the healthcare providers and insurers which approached $800,000.00. The case settled prior to trial for policy limits in both the injury claim and the wrongful death case.

Industrial Workplace Fatality - In 2001, a power plant catastrophe occurred in West Virginia that killed our client's husband, making her a widow and leaving three children fatherless. The young worker was performing his duties inside a coal/gob storage silo when the structural components inside failed and collapsed, allowing 2000 tons of steel and coal to fall upon the worker, killing him instantly. Suit was brought against all entities including design engineers, manufacturers, and operators of the power plant and silo. Our law firm assembled some of the finest design engineers, metallurgists, and construction specialists in the world as part of our litigation team in order to prove the cause of the catastrophic failure and collapse. After extensive litigation, this case settled prior to trial. While no one can ever bring back a deceased husband and father, our lawyers were successful, through the use of specially designed structured settlements and annuities, of assuring that the young widow and three children have a secure financial future.

Medical Malpractice - The trial lawyers at Wilson, Frame, Benninger & Metheney, PLLC, have successfully prosecuted medical professional negligence claims against West Virginia University Hospitals ("Ruby Memorial" hospital), Fairmont General Hospital, United Hospital Center, Davis Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital of Buckhannon, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Uniontown Hospital. In addition, malpractice claims have been successfully litigated against physicians practicing in orthopedics, oncology, urology, neurology, emergency medicine, surgery, cardiology, radiology, obstetrics, gynecology, dentistry, pharmacology, internal medicine, infectious disease, and anesthesiology. For more information, click here.

Workplace injury / Deliberate Intent - In 2002, an Ironworker was working "high steel" construction installing floor gratings on the 6th floor of a steel erection project. The Ironworker was required to traverse narrow steel beams and maneuver across floor openings while dragging 468 pound sections of floor grating using a hand held hook. The fall arrest system provided to the Ironworker was defective and violated OSHA and industrial standards. The Ironworker fell from a steel beam, through a floor opening, and struck his head on a steel beam causing a severe and permanent traumatic brain injury. Our law firm filed a deliberate intent action. Litigation revealed the employer had "actual knowledge" that the fall arrest system was defective prior to the incident. The employer knew another co-worker fell some 40 feet the week prior to our client's fall in violation of OSHA standards and did nothing to fix the fall arrest system. The claim settled prior to trial.

Burn Injury - In 1999, our client was returning from a business meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, when a tractor-trailer abruptly changed lanes causing a violent collision. Our client's became wedged under the rear tandem wheels of the tractor-trailer, crushing the vehicle and puncturing the fuel tank. A gasoline fire erupted. Our client was entrapped in the burning vehicle and sustained full thickness burn injuries over approximately 33% of his total body surface area as well as inhalation burns. Our client was hospitalized for approximately four months in a burn unit recovery and sustained extensive scarring and disfigurement on his face, arms, hands, buttocks, and thighs. The forth and fifth fingers on his left hand had to be amputated. The injured victim has undergone more than sixteen surgical procedures and has incurred medical expenses in excess of Seven Hundred and Eighty Thousand Dollars ($780,000.00). After an initial settlement for liability policy limits, an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia to change/clarify existing law and allow recovery of substantial underinsured motorist coverage.

Slip and fall - Our client exited her vehicle and walked across the parking lot of a shopping mall plaza to the retail store. The entrance to the retail store contained a hidden defect in the pavement. An uneven lip on the pavement protruded causing our client to trip and fall to the ground. She reached her arm out to brace for the fall and collided with the doorway causing an awkward landing on the cement. Our client suffered a comminuted left distal humeral fracture. Due to the fragmentation angulation, and displacement of the bone fragments, our client underwent an open reduction surgical procedure to reduce the bone fragments with steel screws and plates. The claim settled prior to trial.

Fire Loss / Insurance Claim - A gas station/convenience store caught fire due to an electrical malfunction causing extensive damage to the building and all of its contents. The insurance company insuring the building accused the owners of lying on the insurance application and of committing arson. The insurance company threatened the owners by claiming that the FBI was investigating the fire. The owners retained Wilson, Frame, Benninger & Metheney, PLLC, who discovered the mistakes on the insurance application were made by the insurance sales agent and that no federal or state investigation existed (in fact, the ATF (what organization is this?) investigates arson cases, not the FBI). The insurance company settled for policy limits prior to trial.

Mining Accidents - Our trial lawyers have successfully represented coal mining families for three generations. We prosecute claims against coal mining companies and coal mining equipment manufacturers involving serious injury and death.

The following are some representative cases involving coal mining accidents:

• Longwall Shield Collapse - Verdict for a coal mining family against Eastern Associated Coal for the death of a coal miner at the Federal No. 2 Mine. A coal miner was killed when a defective long wall shield collapsed. The verdict included punitive damages against the coal company. The monies received in this case were in addition to the workers compensation benefits procured for the family.
• Longwall Shearer Malfunction - International litigation on behalf of a coal miner whose arm was severed by a defective long wall shearer. Consolidation Coal Company and the German manufacturer, Gebr. Eickhoff, paid a substantial settlement during trial. Our law firm constructed an elaborate scaled model to demonstrate to the jury how the shearer operated and how its design was defective. The monies received in this case were in addition to the workers compensation benefits procured for the coal miner and his family.
• Derailer and Haulage Track Design Defect - Settlement for a coal miner against Southern Ohio Coal Company for a serious injury at the Martinka Mine. A coal miner's leg was amputated by a runaway coal mine car. The case focused on the lack of appropriate derailers on the haulage track. The monies received in this case were in addition to the workers compensation benefits procured for the coal miner and his family.
• Runaway mine car - Settlement against a coal mine operator and the manufacturer of a mine car. The coal miners were severely injured when they exited a runaway mantrip. The absence of a derailer contributed to the cause of the event. The monies received in this case were in addition to the workers compensation benefits procured for the coal miners and their families.
• Methane explosion - Settlement for two coal miners against Consolidation Coal Company arising out of a methane gas explosion at the Blacksville No. 1 Mine. During installation of casing through an opening in the cap covering the production shaft, a methane-air mixture was ignited by sparks produced by arc welding. The monies received in this case were in addition to the workers compensation benefits procured for the coal miners and their families.
• Coal Stockpile Collapse - Several employees of Consolidation Coal Company and outside contractors walked out on a massive coal stockpile to examine an overhead conveyor that had broken. A system of feeders beneath the stockpile was utilized to draw down the stockpile and convey coal to a preparation plant. Unknown to the miners, a large void or cavity had formed within the stockpile. The stockpile collapsed without warning swallowing five miners. Our firm was able to prove that Consolidation Coal Company had experienced a similar occurrence at another mine and that the dangers presented by coal stockpiles were well known in the mining industry. Our firm again used its resources to build a scale model of the coal storage bin, stockpile, and overhead conveyor system to dramatically illustrate the sequence of events.
• Failure to Provide Safety Equipment - Verdict for a coal miner against coal operator arising out of a surface mine operation in north-central West Virginia. The coal miner lost an eye because of the failure of the mine operator to provide appropriate safety equipment. The monies received in this case were in addition to the workers compensation benefits procured for the coal miner and his family.
• Grant Town Tipple Demolition - Verdict for a laborer against a salvage company during the demolition of the Grant Town coal tipple. The laborer was seriously injured when he was crushed due to the failure of the demolition company to establish and follow properly engineered demolition and safety protocols.

Insurance Bad Faith - An insurance company accused its insured of lying on the insurance application and of committing arson in an attempt to coerce its insured into abandoning the claim. It was discovered that the insurance company engaged in a general business practice of intimidating its insured in fire loss claims during a period when the Insurance Commissioner was pressuring the insurance company to increase its reserve funding. A claim was filed against the insurance company for violation of the West Virginia Unfair Trade Practices Act which was settled prior to trial.

Wrongful Death - In 2000, three teenagers became highly intoxicated drinking beer and huffing gasoline and savagely beat a handicapped African-American. The teenagers stuffed the victim in the trunk of a car as he begged for his life and drove him to the outskirts of the town. The teenagers dumped his body in the road and drove over him several times in an attempt to disguise their crime as a "hit and run" accident. The teenagers later confessed, were convicted, and sentenced to prison terms. Our law firm successfully pursued a wrongful death claim and recovered insurance proceeds. The family dedicated a portion of the proceeds to establish the Arthur "J.R." Warren, Jr. Scholarship for Social Justice at the West Virginia University College of Law.