Recently, CSX Transportation asked for a case involving a dead teenager to be removed from Putnam County Circuit Court to federal court. The 16-year-old boy had died in January 2012 after being struck by a CSX train near Hurricane High School. The boy's father, Richard Dwayne Ball, later filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Putnam County Circuit Court against CSX, the City of Hurricane, and the Board of Education for Putnam County.

CSX later filed a motion, claiming that the case should be moved to federal court in Huntington because the amount in question exceeded $75,000 and the parties came from different states. The City of Hurricane, for its part, had already filed an answer claiming that it was in no way responsible for the teenager's death.

The teenage boy was allegedly struck by a CSX train while walking on or near the railroad tracks. He never heard the train coming because he was listening to music through headphones. The boy's father claimed that there should have been adequate warning signs or barriers to prevent students from walking along the railroad tracks.

Ball described the area as "abnormally and unusually dangerous" due to the high number of students that passed through, the fast-moving train, and the limited sight distances. Ball further claimed that CSX's failure to provide warning signs constituted a breach of ordinary care, and that the City of Hurricane and the Board of Education for Putnam County likewise owed a duty of care to students, to provide them with safe travel through the area.