Brooks v. City of Weirton

STARCHER, Justice:

This case arises from the death of William Richard Brooks, who was killed when the walls of a trench in which he was working collapsed. 1 Mr. Brooks’ widow filed a wrongful death suit in the Circuit Court of Hancock County, naming several parties as defendants, including the City of Weirton and three of its agencies and boards.

Because the City is a political subdivision of the State of West Virginia, the “Governmental Tort Claims and Insurance Reform Act” (“the Act”) that governs the legal immunity of political subdivisions and their employees, is implicated in the lawsuit.…