$350K suit filed against Cannon Co.

A $350,000 lawsuit has been filed in Circuit Court against Cannon County by the surviving family of Charles Jeffrey Fann, who died during a fall at the Convenience Center.

Fann died March 24, 2012 when he fell into a pit at the solid waste receiving station on Alexander Drive.

"The convenience center facilities constructed for the receipt of waste resemble a large metal pit, the top of which is at ground level at the end of a street or roadway," the suit states. "This pit descends into a hopper which feeds into a mechanism that prepares the waste for transport by truck."

The suit was filed by Tullahoma attorney Gerald L. Ewell Jr. in behalf of Melanie Fann, the surviving spouse and their three children.

At the time of Fann's death "there were no guards, fences or other protection to prevent one from failing into the receiving pit," the lawsuit states.

Other persons had fallen into the pit prior to Fann's death and were injured, the document said, but Cannon County had continued to operate the facility without guards, fences or safety precautions.

The county's immunity from such legal actions is waived because of Cannon County's negligence in correcting the dangerous conditions at the Convenience Center, the suit claims.

As a result, Mrs. Fann and her children are entitled to recover damages, but not limited to, including medical expenses, lost earnings and funeral expenses, the document said.

"Wherefore, plaintiff (Mrs. Fann) demands judgment against defendant Cannon County, Tennessee, in the amount of $350,000 plus costs, discretionary costs and such further relief to which she may be entitled," the suit said.