The family of a Pennsylvania man crushed to death by a huge concrete slab while working on the new Interstate 64 bridge near Dunbar has sued the man's employer.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Kanawha Circuit Court, Jon L. Beatty's widow and three children allege that Brayman Construction Corp., the Pennsylvania firm building the span, failed to provide proper safety measures.

Beatty was killed on Aug. 22, 2007, the day before his 47th birthday. He was climbing a 22,000-pound concrete slab used to make up one of the new bridge's support columns when it fell to the ground, pinning him underneath, according to the lawsuit.

"[Beatty] was required to work in that dangerous position without safety protections or precautions which would prevent the panel from falling away from the pier stem," the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit, filed by Charleston lawyer Timothy Bailey, also names Dick Corp., a Pennsylvania-based construction company that reportedly sold the slab to Brayman, as a defendant.

"This and other panels of this type are specific to each project and as sold include necessary and critical specific engineering drawings, diagrams and instructions on how to properly support each specific panel during its placement," the lawsuit reads.

"Dick failed to provide or include the critical engineering drawings, diagrams and instructions when it sold this 22,000 pound concrete form side panel to ... Brayman."

The West Virginia Department of Transportation awarded Brayman a nearly $83-million contract to build the bridge across the Kanawha River between Dunbar and South Charleston.

After Beatty's death, Brayman was fined more than $66,000 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for three alleged safety violations, one classified by OSHA as willful and two classified as serious. The violations related to fall protection, stairs and requirements for cast-in-place concrete.

OSHA settled the case for a fine of nearly $39,000, and dropped the "willful" classification for one of the violations, agency records show.

The lawsuit, which has been assigned to Judge Tod Kaufman, seeks unspecified compensatory damages.

Staff writer Ken Ward contributed to this report. Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 348-1723.

The family of a Pennsylvania man crushed to death by a huge concrete slab while working on the new Interstate 64 bridge near Dunbar has sued the man's employer.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Kanawha Circuit Court, Jon L. Beatty's widow and three children allege that Brayman Construction Corp., the Pennsylvania firm building the span, failed to provide proper safety measures.

Beatty was killed on Aug. 22, 2007, the day before his 47th birthday. He was climbing a 22,000-pound concrete slab used to make up one of the new bridge's support columns when it fell to the ground, pinning him underneath, according to the lawsuit.

"[Beatty] was required to work in that dangerous position without safety protections or precautions which would prevent the panel from falling away from the pier stem," the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit, filed by Charleston lawyer Timothy Bailey, also names Dick Corp., a Pennsylvania-based construction company that reportedly sold the slab to Brayman, as a defendant.

"This and other panels of this type are specific to each project and as sold include necessary and critical specific engineering drawings, diagrams and instructions on how to properly support each specific panel during its placement," the lawsuit reads.

"Dick failed to provide or include the critical engineering drawings, diagrams and instructions when it sold this 22,000 pound concrete form side panel to ... Brayman."

The West Virginia Department of Transportation awarded Brayman a nearly $83-million contract to build the bridge across the Kanawha River between Dunbar and South Charleston.

After Beatty's death, Brayman was fined more than $66,000 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for three alleged safety violations, one classified by OSHA as willful and two classified as serious. The violations related to fall protection, stairs and requirements for cast-in-place concrete.

OSHA settled the case for a fine of nearly $39,000, and dropped the "willful" classification for one of the violations, agency records show.

The lawsuit, which has been assigned to Judge Tod Kaufman, seeks unspecified compensatory damages.

Staff writer Ken Ward contributed to this report. Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 348-1723.