Hoschar v. Appalachian Power Co.

906 F. Supp. 2d 560, 2012 WL 6004151, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170136
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. West Virginia
DecidedNovember 30, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 3:11-00152
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 906 F. Supp. 2d 560 (Hoschar v. Appalachian Power Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoschar v. Appalachian Power Co., 906 F. Supp. 2d 560, 2012 WL 6004151, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170136 (S.D.W. Va. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT C. CHAMBERS, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are Defendant Appalachian Power Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment, (ECF No. 88), and Defendant Industrial Contractors, Ine.’s Motion for Summary Judgment, (ECF No. 90). Because Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendants share the same relevant facts, the Court will address both motions in a single opinion. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS summary judgment in favor of Defendants.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff1 has lived in Mason County, West Virginia, for most of his life. Hoschar Dep. at 18-26, APC Mot. Summ. J., Ex. D, ECF No. 88-1. From approximately March 2006 to April 2007, Plaintiff was employed as a boilermaker for Industrial Contractors, Inc. (“ICI”). Hoschar Dep. at 100-01, Pl.’s Resp., Ex. 1, ECF No. 104-1. During that time he worked exclusively at the Philip Sporn power facility (“Sporn facility”) in Mason County, West Virginia. The Sporn facility was [562]*562owned and operated by Defendant Appalachian Power Company (“APC”). Approximately five months of Plaintiffs time there was spent working in and around the Unit 5 precipitator at the Sporn facility.2 Hoschar Dep. at 111, ECF No. 104-1. Unit 5 is a 213-fooU-high open-air structure composed of steel plates reinforced by steel girders at regular intervals. APC Ans. to Interr. No. 13, Ex. F, ECF No. 88-1; Photos of Unit 5, Exs. G-2, G-3, ECF No. 88-1. The horizontal girders are approximately eight inches wide and two and one half inches deep (creating “channels”), with drainage holes at regular intervals. Photos of Unit 5, Exs. G-2, G-3, ECF No. 88-1. Plaintiffs work on the Unit 5 precipitator included patching the large ducts leading into and out of the precipitator by welding sheets of steel over corroded portions, to prevent leakage of gas and ash. Hoschar Dep. at 119-20, 124, ECF No. 104-2. To access the parts of the structure needing repair, Plaintiff and his coworkers were elevated in a “pick,” which is an elevated platform similar to those used by window washers.

Because Unit 5 is an outdoor facility, birds (particularly pigeons) sometimes perch on the supporting girders and leave their droppings behind. Id. at 118-19. APC implemented several measures to reduce the birds’ presence, including the use of a chemical to irritate the birds’ feet when they landed on the beams, placing an animated owl decoy to scare the birds away, and playing recordings of bird distress calls. APC Ans. to Interr. No. 10, Ex. F, ECF No. 88-1. Nonetheless, Plaintiff observed accumulations of bird manure mixed with ash deposits in the channels, as high as four inches. Hoschar Dep. at 131, 144-45, ECF No. 104-2. To prepare the area for welding, Plaintiff cleared the manure out of the channels using different methods, such as his gloved hands, a wire brush, and an air hose. Id. at 134. Clearing away the manure resulted “in aerosolized dust particles which accumulated on his person and clothing.” Compl. ¶ 2. Each time Plaintiff performed his work on the pick and cleaned his tools, he wore a protective respirator. Hoschar Dep. at 232-35, ECF No. 88-1.

In 2009, after Plaintiff had left his work at the Sporn facility, doctors performed a routine chest x-ray in preparation for unrelated knee surgery. Id. at 156. Doctors observed a four-centimeter mass in Plaintiffs lung. Id. Believing it could be cancerous, Plaintiffs physician recommended that Plaintiff undergo surgery to remove the portion of his lung containing the mass. Guberman Dep. at 37, Ex. B, ECF No. 88-1; Ducatman Dep. at 44, Ex. C, ECF No. 88-1. Accordingly, doctors removed that portion of Plaintiffs lung. Biopsy results on the mass ultimately revealed that it was not cancer, but rather benign histoplasmosis. Guberman Dep. at 37, ECF No. 88-1. Because the mass was removed and there was no evidence of active histoplasmosis elsewhere in his body, Plaintiff was not treated for histoplasmosis. Ducatman Report at 1, Ex. L, ECF No. 88-1.

Histoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by inhaling the spores of the Histoplasma capsulatum fungus. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Histoplasmosis: Protecting Workers at Risk, Revised Edition at 1, Ex. S, ECF No. 88-1. The disease cannot be transmitted from an infected person or animal to someone else. Id. Histoplasmosis generally affects a person’s lungs, and the vast majority of people with the disease have no ill effects and may not even realize they [563]*563have the disease. Id. The minority that does exhibit ill effects presents flu-like symptoms. Id. H. capsulatum grows in soil and the proportion of people infected by the fungus is particularly high in the Ohio River Valley region, where the soil is rich in nitrogen. Id. at 3. The organism can be carried on the wings, feet, and beaks of birds and infect soil under roosting sites or manure accumulations inside or outside buildings. Id. Fresh bird droppings on surfaces like windowsills and sidewalks, however, have not been shown to present a health risk for histoplasmosis because birds themselves do not appear to be infected by the fungus. Id. Bird manure rather acts as a nutrient source for H. capsulatum that is already present. Id. Those at risk of developing histoplasmosis are those present near activities where material contaminated with H. capsulatum becomes airborne. Id. at 4.

Plaintiff and his wife filed the instant suit on January 31, 2011, alleging that he developed histoplasmosis after being exposed to aerosolized bird manure while working at the Sporn facility.3 First, Plaintiff asserts a common law negligence claim against APC. Plaintiff claims that as owner of the Sporn facility, APC breached a duty to provide a safe place to work. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that APC failed to post health risk warnings concerning the accumulations of bird manure at the plant; failed to notify workers of the health risks associated with bird manure and histoplasmosis; and failed to clean and remove accumulated bird manure prior to Plaintiff beginning the repair work. Compl. ¶¶ 10-13.

Second, Plaintiff asserts a claim against ICI pursuant to the West Virginia’s Workers’ Compensation Act, W. Va.Code § 23-4 — 2(d)(ii). That provision subjects employers to liability for a plaintiff-employee’s injury if the employer “acted with deliberate intention” to “produce the specific result of injury or death to an employee.” W. Va.Code § 23-4-2(d)(2). In this case, Plaintiff claims that ICI had actual knowledge that accumulations of bird manure were present at the worksite and that there was a high degree of risk of injury from histoplasmosis. Compl. ¶ 16. Additionally, Plaintiff contends that ICI violated industry safety standards and thus “intentionally exposed [him] to a working condition in which he was not educated to the dangers of bird manure....” Id. ¶¶ 17, 22. Plaintiffs wife asserts claims for loss of consortium.

This matter has been fully briefed and is ripe for disposition. Accordingly, the Court now turns to the parties’ arguments and applicable legal standards.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Summary Judgment Standard of Review

To obtain summary judgment, the moving party must show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

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739 F.3d 163 (Fourth Circuit, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
906 F. Supp. 2d 560, 2012 WL 6004151, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170136, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoschar-v-appalachian-power-co-wvsd-2012.