CATLETTSBURG—Kirl Fitch was returning to his Inez home after a doctor visit on December 19, 2011, when the vehicle in which he, his wife, Kathleen, and their daughter, Wanda Kirk, were traveling was involved in a collision on US 23 near Catlettsburg with an 18-wheeler owned by Veolia ES Industrial Services and operated by Justin Gillum of Greenup, Kentucky, a crash which caused "very serious injuries" to Kirl and "serious injuries" to Kathleen and Wanda, according to John Kirk, who filed a lawsuit against the truck owner and driver for Kirl, Kathleen and Wanda.
According to Kirk's complaint filed in the Boyd Circuit Court in 2012,
the collision resulted from the negligence of the truck driver and caused
extensive hospital treatment for Kirl Fitch and considerable medical treatment
for Kathleen and Wanda.
The lawsuit demanded compensation for injuries, medical treatment and
pain and suffering. The suit also demanded punitive damages.
"Kirl Fitch, my friend for many years, was hurt very badly,"
Kirk said, "and underwent hospitalization. Fortunately, no one was
killed, but unfortunately, injuries that Kirl, Kathleen and Wanda suffered
will stay with them."
Recently, the lawsuit was settled at Lexington by Brian C. House Mediations.
"Settlement was a very good thing," Kirk said. "All the
parties, the insurance company representation and lawyers convened for
mediation and everything was worked out and settled, which is a good thing
because, getting ready and going through a long trial would have been
a hard thing for Kirl and the others to do, given their injuries."
Terms of settlement were not given. "That is a normal thing." Kirk said, "to keep all that information private. I can say, however, that justice has been done for three good people."