According to state legal journal the West Virginia Record, Clyde Holsten and representatives Ranson Law filed documentation in Boone Circuit Court on January 14 and named Alpha, as well as subsidiary Elk Run Coal, as defendants.

Holsten was an employee of Elk Run from January 1, 2003 until January 29, 2011 and claimed he was injured on his last day of work by a “rib roll on an improperly supported roof”

The mine said he was working at the mine’s no 2 pillar section and his lower left leg was struck as he and another worker checked a leaking boom swing hose.

According to the Record, the miner’s suit contends that Elk Run knew about the unsafe condition.

Post-accident, Holsten said, he had spent large sums of money for medical and hospital treatment, including the amputation of his leg.

He said he would need future care because his injuries were permanent and lasting.

The case, 13-C-3, has been assigned to Judge William Thompson for jury trial and the plaintiff will demand compensatory, general and punitive damages of an unspecified amount, as well as litigation costs and any other eligible relief.