1 VIRGINIA: 2 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF ROANOKE 3 4 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x 6 In the Matter of: : : 7 JERRY HALE, : : CASE NO. 8 Plaintiff, : Vs : CL91-921 9 : NORFOLK AND WESTERN RAILWAY : 10 COMPANY, : : 11 Defendant. : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x 12 1 3 14 Conference Room 401, N & W Office Building, 15 800 Princeton Avenue, Bluefield, West Virginia, 16 Wednesday, March 25, 1992. 17 18 The Deposition of @ART# 19 taken by the Plaintiff before Richard B. Daisey, RPR, 20 a Notary Public within and for the State of West 21 Virginia at Large, pursuant to notice, to be used for 22 all lawful purposes, pursuant to the Virginia Rules of 23 Civil Procedure, commencing at 3:25 p.m., EST. 2 4 p I - 26 2 5 1 VOT-TTMFT ORIGINAL AC@EQ: 1450 Main Street - Princelon, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 A P P E A R A N C E S 2 3 4 OTIS K. FORBES, III, ESQ., 5 . & Haiek, P.C. 6 1294 Diamond Springs Road, 7 P.O. Box 5369, 8 Virginia Beach, Virginia, 23455, 9 appearing on behalf 10 of the Plaintiff. 11 ALBO Present: Jerry Hale 12 13 14 15 16 JAMES F. JOHNSON, ESQ., 17 Johnson, Ayers & Matthews, 18 305 West Campbell Avenue, 19 P.O. Box 2200 20 Roanoke, Virginia, 24009, 21 appearing on behalf 22 of the Defendant. 2 3 2 4 25 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 3 P R 0 C E E D I N G S 2 MR. FORBES: Would you please swear the 3 witness? 4 Whereupon, 5 JAMES D. GEARHART 6 was called as a witness and, after having been first 7 duly sworn by the Notary Public, was examined and 8 testified as follows: 9 EXAMINATION 10 BY MR. FORBES: 11 Q. Mr. Gearhart, state your full name, please. 12 A. James Douglas Gearhart. 13 Q. And your address? 14 A. I live at 1425 Whitethorn Street, Bluefield, 15 West Virginia. 16 Q. And your phone number please? 17 A. 304-327-8761. 18 Q. And you're employed by? 19 A. Norfolk/Southern Corporation. 20 Q. What job do you hold? 21 A. Division engineer. 22 Q. How long have you held that job? 23 A. Since March of 1990. 24 Q. Was this prior to Mr. Hale's incident, 25 accident? 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 A . Yes. 2 Q. This is a supervisory position. IE 3 correct? 4 A. That's correct. 5 Q. And what department are you in, as division 6 engineer? 7 A. Maintenance of way and structures. 8 Q. How many years have you been with 9 Norfolk/Southern? 10 A. Twenty-one. 11 Q. When did you start? 12 A. May of 1971. 13 Q. What jobs have you held with 14 Norfolk/Southern Railway Company? 15 A. I've been a road fireman, a management 16 trainee, assistant track supervisor, assistant to the 17 division engineer, division engineer, manager of 18 roadway maintenance, process engineer, and division 19 engineer. 20 Q. And you were division engineer in March of 21 1990, when Mr. Hale was injured. Is that correct? 22 A. That's correct. 23 Q. Could you explain to me the general duties 24 of a division engineer, please? 25 A. I'm responsible for the track and structures 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 5 I of the Pocahontas Division. 2 Q. Does the Pocahontas Division include 3 Panther, West Virginia, where Mr. Hale was working? 4 A. That's correct. 5 Q. The Pocahontas Division also includes what 6 other geographical territory, please? 7 A. It runs from Bluefield, West Virginia, to 8 Portsmouth, Ohio, not including Portsmouth. It goes 9 up through Elmore, West Virginia, to Deep Water, West 10 Virginia, and down to Gilbert; also runs down through 11 Virginia from Bluefield to Andover, Virginia, and all 12 the branch lines that connect with it. 13 Q. Do you know who was working with Mr. Hale on 14 the day of his injury? 15 A. I understand that W. K. Adkins was working 16 with him, and J. A. Stiltner was the crane operator. 17 Q. Who was working for you on that date? And 18 I'm talking about not these gentlemen who you've just 19 described, but was Mr. Carney under your supervision? 20 A. That's correct. 21 Q. Was he directly under you? 22 A. That's right. 23 Q. Who was working for Mr. Carney, in the 24 pecking order? 25 A. Well, vou mean as far as the job where these 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 fellows were working? 2 Q. Yes, sir. 3 A. Basically, it would come down to tite -- if 4 we didn't have a foreman or assistant at the location, 5 and I don't believe we did, it would be the crane 6 operator and assistant train operator. 7 Q. So it would have been Mr. Stiltner. s A. Correct. 9 Q. And Mr. Adkins. Correct? 10 A. I think, if I remember right, Mr. Hale and 11 Mr. Adkins had the same position. 12 Q- Do you know Jerry Hale? 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. How long have you known him? 15 A. I don't know. I guess off and on for maybe 16 seven or eight years. He's worked on -- when I was in 17 production, he worked on some of the gangs. 18 Q. What job did he usually work, back in March 19 of 1990? 20 A. Well, let's see. Jerry had worked as 21 assistant crane operator, and was also an occasional 22 crane operator. 23 Q. What does an assistant crane operator 24 typically do? What are his duties? 25 A. Well, he's a relief operator. And then he 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 D41SEY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 7 1 assists the crane operator, giving signals and 2 handling the loads, actually hooking chains to the 3 loads, and tying things down; changes off cable, and 4 makes adjustments as far as the crane itself. He 5 would be actively involved in changing the oil, and 6 just anything that the operator needs help with doing. 7 Q- Do you know if Mr. Hale was working at his 8 normal location that day? 9 A. I believe Mr. Hale at that time was an 10 assistant crane operator with the Little Giant crane. 11 So this would not have been the normal crane that he 12 worked with, on a regular basis. 13 Q. Do you know why he wasn't working with his 14 regular crane? 1 5 A. No, I don't. 16 Q. Do you know if he's a qualified crane 17 operator? 18 A. To the best of my understanding, he is, yes. 19 Q. Is he qualified by Norfolk/Southern? 20 A. Yes. 21 Q. Mr. Hale typically worked in the Pocahontas 22 Division. Is that right? 23 A. Yes. Typically. 24 Q. But as I understand it, in working with the 25 other crane that we've just discussed, this was not in 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 the general geographical location that he was working 2 on, on the day of the accident. Is that right? 3 A. Well, his normal work location was that 4 general vicinity. 5 Q. What was the name of the crane that he 6 normally worked with? 7 A. We called it the Little Giant crane. 8 Q. Where was that located? 9 A. I don't know. 10 Q. Would it be safe to say that he waB working 11 at a new location? 12 A. No. 13 Q. Do you know if he had ever worked with Mr. 14 Stiltner or Mr. Adkins before? 15 A. I can't answer that. I don't know. You'll 16 have to understand, I came in March and he was injured 17 in April, so I didn't have a whole lot of time. 18 Q. He was injured in March, too. 19 A. Okay, I arrived here about the same time 20 that he was injured. 21 Q. Do you know if there's any difference in the 22 activities he was performing in March of 1990, and the 23 activities or duties that he typically performed with 24 the crane that he had been working on? 25 A. Well, we normally handle the larger loads 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 D41SEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 9 1 with the locomotive cranes, and the smaller loads with 2 the Little Giant. So he was working with a larger 3 crane than the crane that he was assigned to. 4 Q. Would his duties have been different, 5 working with a larger crane, than working with this 6 smaller crane? 7 A. Only by the size of the loads. Everything 8 else would be the same. 9 Q. On the date of his injury, and when he was 10 working with Mr. Adkins and Mr. Stiltner, do you know 11 what was done with loose gondola car doors, in order 12 to secure them into the gondola? 13 A. Well, there were several practices that I 14 had determined went on at the time. One was to secure 15 it to the side of the car. Another was to secure it 16 to the floor of the car. And the third would be to 17 put it back at the end of the car, back in its place, 18 where it would be secured in its normal loading 19 position. 20 Q- Do you know what procedure was being used 21 with Mr. Stiltner and Mr. Adkins? 22 A. The procedure that was used with them was 23 securing it to the side of the car. 24 Q. But you were aware of three separate 25 procedures that were being used in your territory. Is 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 0 1 that correct? 2 A. After the accident, that's when I determined 3 that there were three different procedures being used. 4 Q. Do you know when the procedure, whereby the 5 doors were secured to the side of the car, or the wall 6 of the car -- do you know when that was started? 7 A. No. 8 Q. Do you know if there were any instructions 9 that had been issued by the railroad about how this 10 procedure was to take place. 11 A. No. 12 Q. Do you know if there was ever any kind of 13 instructions or guidelines put down in writing? 14 A. No, sir. 15 Q. Had you ever seen any? 16 A. No. 17 Q. Do you know if these procedures, any one of 18 them, were ever explained to the workmen, in specific 19 classes or things of that nature? 20 A. I don't know. 21 Q. Do you know anybody who would know? 22 A. Possibly my assistant. 23 Q. And who was that? 24 A. R. L. Meadows, Jr. 25 0. But it waB your underotanding that the three- 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAMY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 procedures were that they were either on the wall, 2 secured to the wall or the floor, or put in their 3 right place at the end of the gon? 4 A. That was the procedure that was determined 5 would be in use with the drop-in doors. 6 Q. And you don't know what procedure the people 7 that -- do you know what procedure they were using on 8 the date that he was injured? 9 A. Well, my investigation determined they were 10 hooking them to the side of the car. 11 Q. How did you determine what the three 12 procedures were, after this accident? Did you conduct 13 some sort of investigation? 14 A. I questioned my supervisors over the 15 division. 16 Q. And who were those guys? Who are those 17 people? 18 A. I had 10 track supervisors at the time. 19 Q. Do you remember the nameb? 20 A. We've had some changes since then. T. A. 21 Keys, D. R. Massie, G. B. Bailey, J. W. Staunton, C. 22 E. Carney, E. R. Otey, M. J. Church, M. J. Birkelbach, 23 J. C. Means, P. D. Gillespie. Is that 10? 24 Q- You're getting there. That's good. 25 From those conversations with those 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 12 I gentlemen, you determined that the gondola doors were 2 secured three separate ways? 3 A. Right. 4 Q. Was there any rhyme or reason to this? I 5 mean, did they explain to you why they, for instance, 6 had done it one way as opposed to another way? 7 A. Well, securing it to the side of the car was 8 explained that it would keep the door from sliding 9 around in the car; putting it on the floor, you 10 wouldn't have to secure it as well; putting it back in 11 the end would have it where you could pin it when you 12 got done. 13 But as far as one to the other, one being 14 superior to the other, I don't have a rhyme or reason 15 for it. 16 Q. Do you know what practice Mr. Hale was used 17 to using? 18 A. No. 19 Q. Were you at the accident scene on 3/27/90? 20 A. No. 21 Q. Where were you, sir? 22 A. I can't tell you for sure where I was, now. 23 Q. Where was your office at that time? 24 A. Bluefield, West Virginia. 25 Q. Right here? 1450 Main Street - Princeton. WV 24740 DAISEY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 3 1 A Yes. 2 Q. Did you ever go to the scene of the 3 accident? 4 A. I went to the crane and to the gondola, the 5 next day. 6 Q. Where were they located? 7 A. At that time they were in Auville yard in 8 Iaeger, West Virginia. 9 Q. Did you do an inspection when you got there? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. And how did you do your inspection? 12 A. Visual. 13 Q. What did you find? 14 A. I found an empty gondola with the door on 15 the side of the car. 16 Q. I'm sorry. The door was on the side of the 17 car? 18 A. Yeah. 19 Q. Was it secured to the side -- 20 A. I'm sorry. The door at that time was on the 21 floor of the car. 22 Q. okay. 23 A. And it was a panel car that handles two 24 panel turn-outs. So it has rails in the bottom to 25 help secure the doors. They had standards on the 1450 Main Street - Princelon, WV 24740 D4[SEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 14 1 sides. I took no exception to the condition of the 2 car. 3 Q. Did you happen to look in the floor of the 4 car? 5 A. Yes. 6 Q. Was there any debris laying between those 7 rails, that was -- as I understand, they're put in 8 there length-wise, to hold the material that you place 9 in there. 10 A. No. I didn't. 11 Q. You didn't see any -- 12 A. No debris of any amount. 13 Q. Was there any in there? 14 A. You could say that there was some stuff in 15 the floor of the car, but nothing that would interfere 16 with the use of the car. 17 Q. What kind of stuff? Dirt? 18 A. Some dirt, sure. 19 Q. Sawdust? 20 A. I don't remember sawdust. 21 Maybe some ballast. 22 Q. How about loose chain? 23 A. No. 24 Q. Some ballast was in there? 25 A. Sure, 1450 Main Slreet - Princeton, WV 24740 DAMY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 15 1 Q. How much? 2 A. I don't know. Maybe a couple hundred pounds 3 worth in the whole bottom of the car. 4 Q. Any tools, or anything of that sort? 5 A. Nothing in the general vicinity of where the 6 door was. No. 7 Q. But were there tools laying about? 8 A. Probably a plybar and handle laying down on 9 the far end of the car. 10 Q. Anything else that you can think of? 11 A. No. 12 Q. What was the condition of the door? 13 A. I don't quite understand that question. I 14 mean, it wasn't a new door, of course. 15 Q. Well, was it damaged in any way? 16 A. It had been used. It had been bumped into, 17 off and on. It wasn't perfectly straight. But it was 18 not a defective door. 19 Q. How many holes did it have in it, burned in 20 it, so you could hook to it? 21 A. You had one on the top center. 22 Q. Do you happen to know if there were any 23 angle irons running across the top and bottom of the 24 door, to stabilize the door? 25 A. No. 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 6 1 Q. Was the door bowed in any way, or bent? 2 A. It wasn't perfectly straight. It wasn't 3 defective. You asked me what my investigation 4 revealed, so -- 5 Q. Is that all? 6 A. You've asked me what my investigation 7 revealed. In my opinion, yes. 8 Q. How was it not perfectly straight? 9 A. It was not perfectly straight. 10 Q. Well, was it bent like a book is bent, or 11 did it have just big dents in it? 12 A. Okay, it wasn't twisted, but it wasn't 13 straight. So that's somewhat both. 14 Q. Did you take any pictures of the door that 15 day? 16 A. I took some pictures, and I have not been 17 able to find them. That's been several years ago, and 18 I have not -- I did take pictures that day. Yes. 19 Q. What did you take pictures of? 20 A. I took pictures of the car. I took pictures 21 of the door. 22 Q. Did you take a picture of the crane? 23 A. I don't think I did. 24 Q. How about the idler car? 25 A. No. 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 7 1 Q. Did you ever meet with Mr. Hale, or see Mr. 2 Hale, after his accidents? 3 A. Yes, sir. 4 Q. When did you see him, sir? 5 A. My mind is blank on exactly when I talked 6 with him. But I did speak to him. 7 I spoke to him the evening of the accident, a on the telephone. He was with Mr. Carney. 9 Q. Where was that? 10 A. I believe at that time they were still at 11 Auville yard, at Iaeger. To be honest, I cannot place 12 where I talked with him again. 13 Q. Do you know what the ndture of your 14 conversation was? 15 A. Oh, I questioned him concerning what had 16 happened. 17 Q. Do you remember what he told you? 18 A. He told me that they had set the door in the 19 Cdr, that he WdS trying to chain it to a standard on 20 the side of the car, and the door started to roll on 21 him. 22 He said he thought he could hold it, and 23 when he realized he couldn't hold it, he tried to get 24 away from it, but he couldn't, and it came over and 25 rolled over on his leg and pinned him. 1450 Main Sireet - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 8 1 Q. Did he tell you how he had been hurt? 2 A. He told me it pinned his leg. 3 Q. I'm sorry. Did he tell you what the extent 4 of his injuries were? 5 A. You mean about his knee? I understood that 6 his knee was fractured. 7 Q. Did he tell you anything else about his 8 injuries, that you can recall? 9 A. No. 10 Q- Did you take any notes, based upon your 11 telephone conversation with Mr. Hale? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. Is that something you normally do? 14 A. Well, I take notes initially, to make out an 15 injury report. 16 Q. Did you make out an injury report? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. Did you file it? 19 A. Yes. 20 Q. Who did you file it with? 21 A. I filed it with my superiors in Atlanta. 22 Q. Is it a computerized report? 23 A. Yes, sir. 24 Q. I'm going to hand you a document, which I 25 believe may be that report. Do you recognize that 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 1 9 1 document? 2 A. Uh-huh. Yes. That's the report. 3 Q. That's the report that you filed? 4 A. Uh-huh. 5 MR. FORBES: I'd like to make this an 6 exhibit, please. 7 (Gearhart's Exhibit No. 1 was 8 marked for identification.) 9 MR. JOHNSON: Is that the initial or 10 the update? 11 THE WITNESS: That's the initial. 12 BY MR. FORBES: 13 Q. Mr. Gearhart, did you do any further 14 investigation of this accident, other than talking 15 with Mr. Hale and taking pictures of the equipment? 16 A. No. 17 Q. Did you talk to any other employees who were 18 involved that day? 19 A. I talked to Kenny Adkins and Jim Stiltner. 20 Q. How did you talk to them? In person? 21 A. Yes. 22 Q. Did you take notes of your converbation with 23 them? 24 A. I'm sure I did. 25 Q. Is that something you normally do? 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 0 1 A Yes. 2 Q. Where did you keep these notes? Did you 3 file them, or what did you do with them? 4 A. Well, once I made my report and 5 everything -- I don't hang on to that stuff. I don't 6 have -- I don't keep notes, after I make a report. 7 Q. Mr. Gearhart, does the N & W have a 8 discipline sy8tem in which they charge employees, if a 9 supervisor believes an employee has violated a safety 10 rule? 11 A. Yes. 12 Q. Do you know if Mr. Hale was charged with any 13 rule violations of this sort? 14 A. No. 15 Q. Or was he? 16 A. He was not charged. 17 Q. Was Mr. Stiltner charged with any rule 18 violations? 19 A. No. 20 Q. How about Mr. Adkins? 21 A. No. 22 Q. What is the procedure for moving loose 23 gondola doors on the N & W system, as a whole? 24 A. I don't understand your question. 25 0. Are there current Rrocedures still in effect - 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DAISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 1 1 for securing loose gondola doors to the gondolas, once 2 they're moved along? 3 MR. JOHNSON: You mean on other 4 divisions? 5 MR. FORBES: Yes, sir. 6 MR. JOHNSON: If you know. 7 THE WITNESS: I don't know. 8 BY MR. FORBES: 9 Q. You don't know? 10 A. I just know how we're doing it here. 11 Q. What do you do here, as far as -- what is 12 your policy or procedure now, with respect to loose 13 gondola doors? How are they secured to the gondolas? 14 A. We put them back at the end of the car and 15 pin them. 16 Q. When was that procedure put into effect? 17 A. After Jerry's injury. 18 Q. Is that due to your investigation? 19 A. Well, I just felt like that of the three 20 procedures, that would give us the least amount of 21 risk. 22 Q. Do you know if there are other procedures in 23 effect in different territories? 24 A. No. ei i @i a i 2 5 1450 Main Sireet - Princeton, WV 24740 D41SEY REPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 2 I A. No. I don't know whether there are others, 2 or not. 3 Q. For it to be a uniform procedure over the 4 whole system, that would require the railroad to put 5 this procedure in a rule book, or in a written 6 instruction, wouldn't it? 7 A. Yes. 8 MR. FORBES: If you'll just give me a 9 second, I'll go through and see if I have anything 10 else. 11 BY MR. FORBES: 12 Q. Have you ever watched employees securing 13 these doors to the side walls of these gondolas? 14 A. No. 15 Q. You haven't? 16 A. No. 17 MR. FORBES: Give me just a second, 18 please. 19 (Discussion off the record.) 20 MR. FORBES: Back on the record. 21 BY MR. FORBES: 22 Q. Do you know if Mr. Hale had ever been 23 inbtructed as to how to secure a gondola door to the 24 side wall of a gondola? 25 A. No. sir. 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DIISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 3 1 Q. When you were talking to Mr. Stiltner about 2 this accident, did he tell you if he had made any 3 moves with his boom after the gondola door had been 4 set in the gondola? 5 A. If he had made any moves with it? 6 Q. Yes. After he had set it down. 7 A. No. 8 Q. You don't recall? 9 A. No. He told me that he hadn't moved it. 10 Q. Did he tell you that he coupled up the crane 11 to the gondola, after he had set the gondola door 12 down? 13 A. Yes, sir. 14 Q. Did he tell you whether or not there had 15 been any movement of the gondola car? 16 A. He said held made a coupling move, but it 17 was just enough to couple the car. 18 Q. He didn't tell you whether or not the car 19 moved? 20 A. No. He wasn't aware that the car moved. 21 MR. FORBES; I don't have any further 22 questions. 23 MR. JOHNSON: Mr. Gearhart, you have to 24 read and sign the deposition after it's transcribed, 25 unless you waive reading and signing the deposition, 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 D41SEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 24 1 and authorize the court reporter to sign your name to 2 it. It's up to you. 3 THE WITNESS: what do you recommend? 4 MR. JOHNSON: It's fine to waive it. 5 It's more convenient for everybody concerned. 6 THE WITNESS: All right. 7 (Witness exCuSed) 8 (Whereupon, at 3:55 p.m., EST, the foregoing 9 deposition was concluded.) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2 0 21 2 2 2 3 2 4 2 5 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DIISEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 5 1 STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA 2 STATE AT LARGE, to-wit: 3 I, Richard B. Daisey, a Registered and 4 Professional Reporter and Notary Public within and for 5 the State of West Virginia at Large, do hereby certify 6 that the foregoing witness did appear before me at the 7 time and place specified in the caption hereof; That 8 the said witness was by me first duly sworn; That the 9 testimony of the said witness was by me taken down in 10 Stenotype Characters and transcribed into the English 11 language by Computer Aided Transcription as set forth 12 herein, the same being a true and correct transcript 13 of the said testimony; That I am neither Counsel for 14 nor related to any of the parties hereto and have no 15 interest in the matter whatsoever. 16 IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by the parties 17 hereto that the signature of the foregoing witness is 18 hereby expreBSly waived to the foregoing deposition. 19 Given under my hand this 31st day of 20 March 1992. 21 OFFM SF.AL NOTARY PUBLIC 2 2 STAIF OF WEST V'@l@ v- - - - - - RICHARD B. DAISEY ,,W MAIN STNEET @Jl@ aNotary Public, State of 2 3 PRINCETON, WV 247@ West Virginia at Large M, 24 My Commission expires June 10, 1993. 25 1450 Main Street - Princelon, WV 24740 D41SEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 2 6 I N D E X 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 BY MR. WITNESS FORBES 9 James Gearhart 3 10 11 12 13 14 E X H I B I T S 15 16 GEARHART'S FOR IDENTIFICATION IN EVIDENCE 17 No. 1 19 18 19 20 21 22 Reporter's Certificate Page 25 23 24 25 1450 Main Street - Princeton, WV 24740 DASEYREPORTING SERVICES (304) 425-5922 DELIVER TO NU.KMP ilESSAG%-0384??36 03/28/90 01:56P FROM NW-WXK1--304? 03/28/?O 01:58P RECEIVED NORFOLK SOUT14ERN REPORT OF PERSONAL INJURY/ILLNESS INCIDENT INCIDENT NUMBER - NSP620390048 INITIAL REPORTING OATE 03-28-90 TIME 0156PM LOCATION - BLUEFIELD, WV TO: JUF -KBP GEL -JIP PRO -ATLANTA-GA/MWMTC HLR -ATLANTA-GA/MWMTC AFU -KMP BRT -KMP JOG -YXP 1-HALE, J E 2 - EMPLOYEE ON DUTY 3 SSN 224-58-7705 4-321 VLRGINIA AVE BLUEFIELD, VA 24605 5-47 YEARS OLD 6 5 FT 11 INCHES TALL 7 175 POUNDS 8-ASST.CR.QPR. DEPT. CODE- 03A '?-SENIORITY DATE - 05/11/82 10-REST DAYS - SAT SUN 11 024 MO AREA/ASSBN. 12 REGULAR ASSGNM 13-HOURS ON DUTY - 07 14 REST HOURS PRIOR TO THIS TOUR DUTY - 56 15-PLACE OF INCIDENT - IAEGER, U. VA. 16-DlV 05 MILE POST- N-42?.5 STATE- WV 17-INCIDENT DATE -03-27-?O 18 TIME 0315PM 19-WEATHER - CLEAR 20 - 53 DEBREES 21 - VISIBILITY DAY 2 @@-NATURE/INJURY -FRACTURED LEG 2'@ PART OF BODY LOWER LEFT LEG @@ 4-TYPE ACCIOENT -STRUCK BY 25 ACTIV AT TIME SECTJRING DOOR @6-OBJECT/ACTIVI -GOND DOOR 27 SOURCE INJURY GOND COOR @@ 8-PROTECTIVE EQUIP - HARO HAT, EYE, HAND PROTECTION 2?-LOST DAY EST-045 0, BEGIN 03 28 c?O REST DAY NO RESTR.TCTED DAYS 30 - -TYPE OF MEDICAL ATTENTION - HOSPITAL 0-1 - DESCRIPTION OF TREATMENT: X-RAY (POS.), HOSPITALIZED FOR FRACTURED LEG. - PHYSICIAN/HOSPITAL - DR. ROORIQUES 33-ADDRESS - HUMANA ST, LUKES BLUEFIELD, WV 24701 34-EMPLOYEE DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT: I WAS ATTEMPTING TO SECURE END PANEL DOOR ON GOND WHEN tHE CHAIN CAME LOOSE ANO THE DOOR STRUCK MY RIGHT LEG JUST BELOW MY KNEE. 35-TRAIN/RUN NUMBER - N/A . 36 - SPEED - N/A @-7-DIRECTION - N/A 38 - NUM. CARS - NIA 39 NUM. LOCO - N/A 40-WAS EQUIP. INVOLVED IN INCIDENT? - YES, GOND 4i-INITIAL/NUMBER - NU 514-@74 42 - TYPE RAIL EQUIP MIW EQUIPMENT 43-WAS EQUIPMENT DEFECTIVE? - NO 44-LJITNESS TO INCICENI: J. E. STILTNER, x 45-DESCRIPT]ION OF HOW INCIDENT OCCURRED: AT APPIROXIMATELY 3:15 P.M. , THE CLAMSHELL HAD SET T@IE rND PANEL DI)OR ON C)OND 514574 ON FLOOR OF GOND ANO MR. HALE WAS ATTEMPTING TO SECURE THE DOOR UITH CIIAIN. THE C14AIN CAME LOOSE AND AS TIAE OOOR FELL TOWARD HIM HE JUMPED SIDEtJ,'iYS TO ESCAPE THE OOOR BUI' 11' CAUGHT EilM ON THE OL)TSIOE OF HI RIGHT I-OUER LEri AND KNOCI