Family Of Teacher Killed By Falling Utility Pole Sues Companies Responsible For Accident

Anyone who has lived in a rural town in South Carolina understands why some people never want to leave, while others can’t wait to get out.  On the one hand, the sense of community is unbeatable; everyone knows each other, has memories together, and is willing to help.  On the other hand, small towns feel the effects of underfunded public services most acutely.  Economic hardships are worse when you are far from the big cities; the states with the highest number of business to consumer lawsuits are all states where a relatively high percent of the population lives in rural areas.  In some rural towns, the nearest supermarkets are a long drive away; they are food deserts in an apparent land of plenty.  Any vegetables that are not growing in your garden are a road trip away; your only grocery options are processed foods purchased from dollar stores where the food costs much more than a dollar.  Nursing homes are so scarce in rural areas that some seniors have to take a road trip to visit their spouses, whereas in the big cities, seniors pass by the local nursing home on their morning walk.  If the healthcare sector is underserved in rural America, so is the educational sector.  A teacher in a small town where she grew up is among the people we can least afford to lose.  Crumbling infrastructure in a rural South Carolina town created a perfect storm for disaster and claimed the life of a young teacher.  A Columbia premises liability lawyer can help you if you have been injured in a preventable accident caused by poorly maintained public property.

70-Year-Old Utility Pole Collapsed as Teacher Was Walking Near School

In the 1960s, a little boy named Michael Miller nailed a bottle cap to a wooden utility pole in his hometown of Wagener, South Carolina.  In 2023, Miller was the mayor of Wagener, and the utility pole was still there, bottle cap and all.  In 2014, inspectors noted that the pole was rotting and needed to be replaced, but nine years later, it was still standing.

In August 2023, Jeunelle Robinson had just started her second year as a social studies teacher at Wagener-Salley High School.  During her lunch break, she was walking from the school to run an errand, when the deteriorating pole collapsed.  Robinson tried to get out of the way, but the pole struck her and killed her.  She was 31 years old.  Photos from the scene of the accident show that the pole damaged nearby buildings and vehicles.  In 2024, Robinson’s parents filed a lawsuit against Comporium, Dominion Energy, and PBT Telecom.

Let Us Help You Today

The premises liability lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you if you have suffered a serious injury because of a preventable accident due to poorly maintained public infrastructure.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Sources:

wrdw.com/2024/03/11/family-speaks-out-teachers-death-by-falling-power-pole-wagener/

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12462825/Teacher-SC-utility-pole-sue-Jeunelle-robinson.html