W.Va. mine widows bring fight to Supreme Court - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports

W.Va. mine widows bring fight to Supreme Court

Posted:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Two widows are asking West Virginia's Supreme Court to allow them to sue federal mine inspectors for their husbands' deaths.

Delorice Bragg and Freda Hatfield allege that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration should have detected dangerous conditions at Massey Energy's Aracoma Alma No. 1 mine.

Don Bragg and Ellery Elvis Hatfield died in the Logan County mine during a 2006 fire. Massey and its subsidiary later agreed to pay $4.2 million in criminal fines and civil penalties.

The Supreme Court is holding a hearing Wednesday before answering the liability question for the widows' federal lawsuit.

Federal lawyers argue that state law does not allow a claim against MSHA given the facts of the case.

The widows settled with the company for undisclosed terms in 2008.

Powered by WorldNow
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WVVA.
All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Persons with disabilities who need assistance with issues relating to the content of this station's public inspection file should contact Administrative Assistant Audrey Sluss at (304) 324-0659. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, at 888-835-5322 (TTY) or at fccinfo@fcc.gov.