Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) Sued for Wrongful Death in Upper Big Branch Explosion

The families of two of the coal miners killed in the blast at the Upper Big Branch mine of Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the mine's owner saying it was a "catastrophe waiting to happen".

The families of two coal miners killed in the Upper Big Branch mine blast last year filed wrongful death lawsuits against the mine's owner, Massey Energy Co, saying it was a "catastrophe waiting to happen,"

The suits come a week after Massey's head of security at the West Virginia mine was charged with impeding investigators probing the April 5, 2010, explosion that killed 29 miners in the worst U.S. mine accident in four decades.

According to the suits, the families of Joe Marcum and Adam Morgan, who died in the explosion, are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as a result of "the willful, wanton and recklessly unsafe manner" in which Massey operated the mine.

The complaints allege Massey had "an abysmal safety record" and the number of federal safety violations more than doubled between 2008 and 2009 -- something then-Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship was aware of.




Source = Reuters