CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Beckley osteopath is suing the state's largest workers' compensation company, alleging he was barred from receiving fees because he tried to blow the whistle on pollution at an industrial site.

Dr. Michael Kostenko believes his financial difficulties came from his efforts to expose toxic pollution at Talon Manufacturing Co. in Wyoming County.

The old Workers' Compensation Commission (since privatized as BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.) terminated his right to receive Workers' Comp fees on Feb. 18, 2005. The commission also ordered him to repay $1.3 million in payments he had already received.

Kostenko challenged his termination, but lost his appeals. Now, he has written a civil complaint to be filed in Raleigh County Circuit Court and apparently plans to represent himself in legal proceedings.

Kostenko opened his medical offices in Beckley in 1987. After that, he conducted research on the impacts the chemical Agent Orange had on Vietnam War veterans.

When Workers' Comp terminated his services more than two years ago, Kostenko's clinic treated about 350 workers a year, including at least 100 employed by Talon. Most of the others were coal miners.

Workers' Comp officials charged Kostenko "routinely performed exams ... unrelated to the work-related injury and assessed diagnoses which are unaccepted by the general medical community."

Kostenko, they added, provided care that was "excessive, medically unreasonable and unethical."

They said Kostenko performed unnecessary tendon sheath injections, allowed massage therapists to administer intravenous injections and billed for services more complex than documented in medical records.

Kostenko provided a copy of his legal complaint to the Sunday Gazette-Mail, which mentions he also forwarded copies to the West Virginia State Bar and West Virginia University Law School.

Kostenko's complaint names six BrickStreet administrators and physicians, including Gregory A. Burton, its president and CEO.

The complaint also names Gov. Joe Manchin, Attorney General Darrell McGraw and Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline.

Andy Wessels, spokesman for BrickStreet, did not return a phone call to his office about Kostenko's lawsuit last week.

Wessels previously said, "We're confident the evidence supports the decision to terminate Dr. Kostenko from the Workers' Compensation program."

Kostenko did not return a telephone call to his Coal Country Clinic office in Daniels. The telephone number for his Beckley office has apparently been disconnected.

Kostenko graduated from Western University Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pamona, Calif.

Dr. Michael Kostenko believes his financial difficulties came from his efforts to expose toxic pollution at Talon Manufacturing Co. in Wyoming County.

The old Workers' Compensation Commission (since privatized as BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.) terminated his right to receive Workers' Comp fees on Feb. 18, 2005. The commission also ordered him to repay $1.3 million in payments he had already received.

Kostenko challenged his termination, but lost his appeals. Now, he has written a civil complaint to be filed in Raleigh County Circuit Court and apparently plans to represent himself in legal proceedings.

Kostenko opened his medical offices in Beckley in 1987. After that, he conducted research on the impacts the chemical Agent Orange had on Vietnam War veterans.

When Workers' Comp terminated his services more than two years ago, Kostenko's clinic treated about 350 workers a year, including at least 100 employed by Talon. Most of the others were coal miners.

Workers' Comp officials charged Kostenko "routinely performed exams ... unrelated to the work-related injury and assessed diagnoses which are unaccepted by the general medical community."

Kostenko, they added, provided care that was "excessive, medically unreasonable and unethical."

They said Kostenko performed unnecessary tendon sheath injections, allowed massage therapists to administer intravenous injections and billed for services more complex than documented in medical records.

Kostenko provided a copy of his legal complaint to the Sunday Gazette-Mail, which mentions he also forwarded copies to the West Virginia State Bar and West Virginia University Law School.

Kostenko's complaint names six BrickStreet administrators and physicians, including Gregory A. Burton, its president and CEO.

The complaint also names Gov. Joe Manchin, Attorney General Darrell McGraw and Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline.

Andy Wessels, spokesman for BrickStreet, did not return a phone call to his office about Kostenko's lawsuit last week.

Wessels previously said, "We're confident the evidence supports the decision to terminate Dr. Kostenko from the Workers' Compensation program."

Kostenko did not return a telephone call to his Coal Country Clinic office in Daniels. The telephone number for his Beckley office has apparently been disconnected.

Kostenko graduated from Western University Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pamona, Calif.

His medical license is current, according to the West Virginia Board of Osteopathy's Web site.

Many of Kostenko's problems with Workers' Comp arose from treating workers employed by Talon in Herndon.

Last year, environmental problems created by Talon forced the company to close its offices and industrial facilities in Wyoming and Mason counties, under orders from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In his complaint, Kostenko argues he is a victim for being a "whistle-blower" who exposed toxic substances at Talon.

Kostenko's complaint alleges other state officials are "co-conspirators [who] have since at least January 2005 sought to deceive the West Virginia public about toxicant health hazards flowing from modern industrial development."

Kostenko treated patients he believed were poisoned by tetryl, a caustic material used in military ammunition during the Korean War. Talon specialized in defusing military weapons, including converting tetryl into mine explosives for use in coal mines.

Kostenko has also said workers at places like Talon are often exposed to toxic heavy metals - including lead, arsenic and cadmium - as well as poisonous organic chemicals.

West Virginia itself lost more than $1.2 million in public funds it gave Talon to develop its facility in Herndon, which opened in 1993.

After getting government contracts to disassemble and recycle ammunitions, Talon had a series of difficulties, including: explosions, several environmental violations, failure to pay Workers' Comp premiums and bankruptcy.

At a February 2007 public meeting in Wyoming County, Kostenko said Talon paid employees $7 an hour instead of $20 an hour paid by most companies doing similar work.

In his legal complaint, Kostenko states his past work "has exposed evidence that directly led to civil suits filed against coal preparation plants ... and the Talon demilitarization complex."

Kostenko also criticizes the media for failing "to diligently and vigilantly obtain answers to plaintiff's allegations of wrongdoing [by] public officials or agencies."

Kostenko states he lost his home, his office and suffered the "dissolution of all assets held in reserve."

His complaint estimates the closure of his clinic in early 2005 has already cost him $14.2 million.

Kostenko apparently will also ask for $50 million to compensate for damage to his reputation.

Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 348-5164.