West Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its preliminary report on workplace deaths in 2010. It found that 95 people were killed at West Virginia worksites, up from 54 in 2009.

In some ways, the leap sounds more problematic than it is. The 54 figure in 2009 represents the second-lowest amount of accidents on record, while the 95 figure is inflated by the explosion at Upper Big Branch mine, which killed 29 mine workers. Overall, the mining industry saw the highest number of deaths at 37. This was followed by construction industry deaths at 10. Of those killed, 94% were men, and 96% of the men were white, non-Latino males. Fire was the greatest cause of death, though that might also have been distorted by the Upper Big Branch mine accident.

While 95 deaths in 2010 is a high figure, it does not even come close to the number of workplace injuries, including serious injuries that leave a worker partially disabled. No one should have to fear coming to work every day. Yet while certain jobs carry natural dangers -- like coal mining, construction, and police and firefighting -- their dangers may be exacerbated by employers who ignore safety regulations in order to save money. Even a job not normally considered dangerous can be if your employer fails to keep the workplace reasonably safe.

If you are injured in a workplace accident, you have options for relief. If your employer has workers compensation insurance, you can receive fixed monthly payments for your injury until you (hopefully) recover. The bad news is that you have no choice but to accept workers compensation because the law does not allow you to elect a lawsuit instead. The good news is that you can receive payment regardless of fault, whereas you might not receive anything if you sue. In cases where your employer does not have workers compensation insurance, you could hire an experienced West Virginia personal injury lawyer and file a suit against the employer and/or a third-party manufacturer of any faulty equipment you used.

With your employer, you would argue that it had a duty to provide as safe a work environment as reasonably possible. Your employer breached that duty by failing to follow reasonable safety standards. The breach resulted in your injury and you suffered damage in the form of a broken leg, or damaged disc in your spinal column, or some other serious damage. Your argument against the third-party manufacturer would be similar, except that you would argue that the manufacturer created equipment that was either poorly designed or flawed on the assembly line, and the flaw caused your injury and bodily damage. One thing to watch out for: West Virginia has modified comparative negligence, which means that you cannot collect a monetary award unless you are less than 50% at fault.

Continue reading "Labor Statistics Show That 95 People Died in West Virginia Workplace Accidents in 2010" »

Sadly, despite recent data showing that coal mines have become safer since the Upper Big Branch disaster in 2010, mine workers still lose their lives in workplace accidents. This time, a 62-year old mine worker at Consol Energy's Shoemaker Mine in West Virginia lost his life after being struck by a trench digger.

Charles McIntire had been operating the trench digger moments beforehand at the Ohio River portal to the mine. He then stepped off of the machine and connected it to a power source. The machine came unexpectedly to life and ran over McIntire, amputating his leg. McIntire died late that evening -- the second in a Consol Energy Mine and the seventeenth death in a mining accident this year.

Federal and state mine safety officials met with Consol Energy employees to review the accident and safety procedures. Some emergency management officials cited Consol Energy employees' failure to call 911 when McIntire injured his leg. Instead, they called STAT Medevac and Tri-State EMS.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm always regret preventable deaths. Coal mining has a long, proud history in West Virginia, but it also has many dangers. It is best when mining companies do everything possible to avoid adding more dangers. Yet many of them do, taking shortcuts and ignoring safety procedures. Here, the cause is a little less clear: whether McIntire acted carelessly, or whether the equipment was simply unsafe.

If you or a loved one are injured in a coal mining accident, you have options. If your workplace has workers compensation insurance, you would receive fixed monthly payments while you recuperated from the injury. When the employer has workers compensation insurance, you have no choice but to accept it; you cannot elect to file a lawsuit instead. At the same time, one of the benefits is that you receive payment for your injuries regardless of who was at fault -- whereas you may not get any payment if you sue.

Continue reading "West Virginia Man Dies In a Coal Mine Accident at the Shoemaker Mine" »

A grand jury chose not to indict a West Virginia man on vehicular homicide charges, believing that there was not enough evidence. The Athens County Grand Jury had convened following a tragic situation where two seniors -- Mary and Fred Hart -- were killed after being struck from behind by a vehicle. The accident happened on an interstate highway in neighboring Ohio.

The grand jury determined that the driver, a 34-year old from Fairmont, West Virginia, did not have alcohol in his system at the time of the accident. Rather, investigators at the scene blamed inattentiveness for the collision. The case will now be referred back to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which will likely file misdemeanor charges against the driver.

Car accidents are sadly common, with an estimated 5.5 million occurring each year. In West Virginia, they are especially common along Interstate 79 and Interstate 68, and several routes throughout the state. The results can include everything from whiplash to serious injuries to your neck, back, and brain -- or, in the case of the unfortunate couple here, death. Those fortunate enough to survive car accidents may be left with debilitating injuries. Even a "mild" injury like whiplash can have results that last for years.

If you or your loved one is in a car accident, what can you do? One of the first things to do is hire a West Virginia car accident attorney to help you get relief. Although insurance companies are tasked with paying for car accident injuries, they may not cover everything, and often will act resistant when you try to argue with them. Therefore, you need someone who can help you get more monetary funds to pay the medical bills that crop up as a result of the accident. An attorney has the experience and resources to help you determine if the insurance company settlement is fair or not, or whether the other driver's fault was so great that you could obtain a large award at trial.

If the other driver was largely responsible for the car accident, you would file a suit in court stating that the driver was negligent. You would argue that the other driver had a duty to people on the road (including yourself) to drive safely, and the other driver breached that duty through careless driving. The breach was the direct or proximate cause of your injury, and you suffered physical and property damage as a result. Even if you were partially at fault for the car accident, you can still collect a monetary award in court as long as you were less than 50% at fault. That's because West Virginia has a "modified comparative negligence" system, as opposed to a pure comparative negligence system (where a party can collect no matter what their level of fault as long as it is not 100%) or a contributory negligence system (where a party cannot collect even if it is only 5% at fault). Often a negligence case will be settled before it goes to trial. If not, the outcome of the case will be decided by a jury.

Continue reading "West Virginia Man Not Indicted for Killing Two People in a Car Accident" »

A Danbury, Connecticut man was killed after his kit-built, single-engine plane crashed as he was about to take off from a West Virginia airfield. The recently completed Arion Lightening reportedly careened off the runway at the Green Landings airfield and struck a nearby house. While the occupants of the house fortunately escaped harm, Harry Weber, a 70-year old retired pilot, died at the plane's controls.

So far, the reason for the crash is unknown. It is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Some naturally speculate that there was a flaw in the plane, either in its construction or its design. "[Weber] was an excellent pilot," said Frank Giumarra of Danbury. "I can't believe he did anything stupid."

Weber used to fly commercial jets for Pan Am, logging over 100,000 hours since becoming a pilot 50 years ago. As a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, he was also an enthusiast about building and restoring his own aircraft. Weber traveled frequently to West Virginia to build the Lightening, a project that took seven months. Weber had completed one flight on the new plane prior to his latest attempt. His neighbors remembered him fondly and with sadness.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm understand that flying a private plane is an exciting hobby for many people. As with any exciting hobby, it carries several dangers. Many people with private planes lack Harry Weber's experience and attempt maneuvers that quickly go out of control. They believe that just because they have a license, they are capable of handling a plane in all conditions. At the same time, Weber's case shows that plane crashes can happen under any circumstances, even when the plane is guided by a seasoned hand. The sad question for the deceased person's family members is whether pilot error caused the crash or a defect in the plane.

If evidence reveals that a defect in the plane caused the crash, the family might consider hiring a West Virginia product liability attorney and filing a product liability lawsuit against the plane's manufacturer. To be successful, the family would need to show that the plane had a manufacturing or design defect. This defect made the plane unreasonably dangerous, which caused the accident that resulted in your loved one's death. It might be difficult to prove a manufacturing defect -- where the one plane has serious flaws coming off of the assembly line -- if the plane crash leaves few remains. However, records from the manufacturer or elsewhere might reveal problems with the plane that went uncorrected.

Continue reading "Connecticut Man Killed in West Virginia After His Plane Crashes Into a House" »

A 51-year old man from Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia was killed after being struck by a CSX freight train. The accident happened early in the morning at a location east of Ridge Road and Potomac Avenue. By 6:15 am, the man was pronounced dead by a Jefferson County medical examiner on the scene. Cause of death: blunt force trauma.

Before the accident, the man was reportedly walking east on the north side of the tracks -- as he did every morning to Duffields station, before catching a train into Maryland for work. This time, although the train blew its horn to alert him of its approach, the man did not step off of the tracks. Law enforcement officials state that they do not view the accident as a suicide. Instead, they viewed it as a tragedy and hastened to emphasize that walking alongside or inside of railroad property is illegal.

We at the Wolfe Law Firm express condolences to the man's loved ones and hope that future tragedies like this can be avoided. Sadly, too many people lose their lives to collisions with trains -- either through suicide or through tragic errors. In some cases, train tracks run through busy metropolitan areas, where car drivers may misread signs and end up stuck between the crossing gates. In other cases, inattention on the part of the train operator may result in a tragedy.

If your loved one was struck and killed by a train, you have the option of hiring a West Virginia wrongful death attorney to get relief. An attorney would know how to obtain the facts to help you understand what went wrong. If the tragedy was a suicide, or entirely due to lack of attention on your loved one's part, you could not expect to collect any monetary relief. However, in the case of an inattentive train operator or a poorly designed intersection, you may be successful if you argued that your loved one's death was the result of negligence. To prove negligence against the train conductor, you would need evidence that the conductor's failure to take the necessary safety precautions resulted in the accident. Sometimes the evidence is circumstantial -- "X, Y, and Z would never have happened if the driver had been paying attention." Sometimes direct evidence can be obtained from sources such as cell phone records showing that the driver was chatting or texting shortly before the tragedy occurred. Witnesses to the event -- either on the train or outside -- can be helpful in establishing what happened.

If the accident was caused by an unsafe crossing area, you might succeed in filing a lawsuit against officials of the municipality. Your chance of success is greatest if there is evidence of other tragedies, or "near misses," at this crossing area, and that it was reported to officials. That would demonstrate that these officials were put on notice that a tragic event would occur if nothing were changed. If these officials continued to not act, without a justifiable reason, you could make the case that they were negligent. If you succeed in your suit, the relief awarded by the jury usually includes money for loss of support and services and medical bills (if necessary). It will never bring your loved one back, but it might help you obtain justice and move on with your life.