Published: August 29, 2007 10:17 pm      

Beckley lawyer adds two more lawsuits to Ghent explosion case

Beckley attorney John Wooton last Friday added two more lawsuits involving four plaintiffs to the six-plaintiff lawsuit filed against Little General and seven other parties last month, according to documents obtained from the Raleigh County circuit clerk’s office.

Joyce Walker and Donna Meadows worked for Godfather’s Pizza and Little General, respectively. Both women were on the premises when a propane-gas explosion leveled the building last January, killing four people and injuring five. The two are joined in the suit by their husbands, Connie Walker and Steve Meadows.

Each couple is seeking $20 million in compensatory and punitive damages, and the complaint filed by Wooton seeks a jury trial.

Similar in focus to the $60 million lawsuit filed July 25 by Beckley attorney Benny Jones, Wooton claims his clients suffered “severe and permanent injuries,” loss of income, severe physical and emotional pain, and suffering. The Walkers and Meadows allege lost wages and medical treatment in excess of $200,000 per couple.

In addition to Little General and Godfather’s Pizza, BP America, Appalachian Heating, Thompson Gas Propane Partners, Ferrell Gas, unnamed landowners and unnamed distributors and manufacturers of propane and propane equipment used at the store are named as defendants in all three lawsuits.

— E-mail:

mhill@register-herald.com