Jack Blanketship was about a mile underground in the Aracoma Alma Mine when a 300 pound slab of rock separated from the roof and fell onto him, pinning him to the ground for hours, according to NPR in a recently released investigative report. NPR uncovered that at the time of Jack’s injury, Aracoma Alma coal mine had been cited over 120 times for rock fall violations and federal records show that they had more than $200,000 overdue mine safety fines! American Association for Justice member Tim Bailey of Bucci, Bailey & Javins, L.C. is Blanketship’s lawyer. Tim, a West Virginia native with three generations of coal miners in his family, spoke to NPR about the surprising fact that some of the top safety delinquents continue to mine coal and reap millions of dollars in revenue while their safety fines remain unpaid. Access to a strong civil justice system must be preserved so that injured workers like Blanketship can hold dangerous corporations accountable for safety violations. npr.org/2014/11/12/363058646/coal-mines-keep-operating-despite-injuries-violations-and-millions-in-fines
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 21:11:20 +0000