HUNTINGTON — A garage employee for the city of Huntington has filed a federal lawsuit against an auto parts store after he suffered severe injuries when a hydraulic hose line broke near his face in 2019.
Steele was employed Dec. 11, 2019, as a mechanic for the City of Huntington at the city garage along 2nd Avenue and had job duties that included repairing, servicing and maintaining equipment owned and operated by the city.
The lawsuit requests compensation for damages to be determined by a jury, punitive damages, attorney costs and any other relief the court deems fit.
In the civil complaint, Steele’s attorney Ryan Stewart wrote that Napa maintained a hose-making tool at its store to make new hoses on site, including hydraulic hoses. When an employee would need a new hose, they would take the old hose to an employee of Napa and request a new one. The employee would then make and assemble a new hose to a certain size and strength and give it to the city employee for use.
On Dec. 11, 2019, Steel and his supervisor, James Pelfrey, were working on a large rubber-tired end loader that had a worn-out hydraulic hose line that needed to be replaced. Pelfrey went to the on-site Napa store, which had an employee filling in for the regular Napa employee, to have a new hose made and assembled, the lawsuit said.
The Napa employee made and assembled the hose and provided it to Pelfrey, who installed the new hose on the end loader.
When Steele noticed a leak near one of the fittings, he told the operator to shut the machine down. Almost immediately the new hose “blew up” in Steele’s face and he was thrown backward into a fire truck that was in the bay, the lawsuit said.
The high-pressure hydraulic fluid hit Steele in the face, eyes and skin, which resulted in serious, permanent and debilitating injuries. The lawsuit said Steele suffered permanent vision loss and impairment, a concussion, migraines and headaches, eye pain, memory and cognitive deficits and psychological impairment.
The lawsuit said a post-incident investigation said Napa’s employee improperly assembled the hose by using the wrong size fitting on the end of the hose that broke loose. By using a half-inch fitting rather than than a three-quarter-inch fitting, the hose was not able to be crimped property, which caused the hose to blow off. The hose was also not inserted far enough into the fitting to be properly assembled, the lawsuit said.
Steele’s attorney said he has suffered extreme physical pain and mental anguish, permanent physical and psychological impairment and loss of wages, among other things.
Napa has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.
The City of Huntington declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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December 16, 2021 at 12:05PM
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Huntington city mechanic sues auto parts store after incident left him injured - Huntington Herald Dispatch
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