April 2014 - Morgantown WV Injury Lawyer

Potential of Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) for Oil Extraction in West Virginia

Black gold, Texas tea, bubbling crude – since the 1700’s the Appalachian Basin has been a known source of crude oil trapped deep in layers of black shale. Energy prospectors are seeing new potential for oil drilling in the Appalachian Basin, particularly in Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia.

New developments in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have made previously inaccessible pockets of oil and gas deposits in shale formations accessible and potentially profitable. As the industry expands, the number of workers needed to accomplish this extraction is expected to increase exponentially, creating new opportunities and new revenue for the communities in Central and Southern West Virginia.

As West Virginians know all too well, with this economic opportunity comes risk. Accidents happen in dangerous industries, but many could have been prevented if more training has been accomplished, greater safety measures had been in place and enforced, and if workers had not been worked hours past the point of exhaustion.

Since the severity and duration of workplace injuries which occur in the oil and gas industry are typically far worse than in other employment sectors, oil and gas drilling companies must be held accountable for doing everything within their power to prevent such accidents.

As this industry grows, these modern-day prospectors in the oil and gas industry would do well to remember “Safety First” not only for the benefit and safety of workers and the community at large but also for their own bottom line. Even in this changing economy, an ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure.

What you don’t know can hurt you. If you have questions about injury claims in WV, click here to receive our report: 7 Facts you Need to Know about WV Injury Claims.

Submitted by the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC, a West Virginia Personal Injury Law Firm based in Morgantown, WV. Jeff Robinette, the firm’s founder, is a National Board Certified Trial Attorney with over two decades of experience in successfully handling claims involving workplace injury claims including coal mining injuries, gas well explosions, construction site accidents, toxic exposure, industrial accidents, and construction vehicle and work truck accidents. Visit our website for more information or call today: 304-594-1800.

A West Virginia woman is suing the mining company, the mining supervisor in charge of mining safety services, and the manufacturer and distributor of the machinery after her husband was killed on the job in an underground mine. She is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages based on negligence in a lawsuit filed in Pineville, WV in Wyoming Circuit Court.

According to the complaint, this woman’s husband was employed as an underground coal miner when his supervisor started a continuous mining machine, crushing to death this employee who was standing very near the machine.

West Virginia coal miners are among the hardest working professionals in America. Every year, miners are injured or killed because the coal operators continue to circumvent or violate safety laws for the protection of the miners. Despite strong MSHA regulations, coal mining continues to be one of the most dangerous occupations in the world.

Most West Virginians are familiar with Worker’s Compensation Insurance which will cover only a portion of the cost of workplace injuries or financial compensation for a work-related death.

Many do not know, however, that West Virginia has a second avenue for compensation for injured employees, but to pursue this, deliberate intent on the part of the employer must be proved.

To Prove Deliberate Intent on the part of your employer, you must prove:

That a specific unsafe working condition existed in the workplace which presented a high degree of risk and a strong probability of serious injury or death;
That the employer had a subjective realization and an appreciation of the existence of such a specific unsafe working condition and of the high degree of risk and the strong probability of serious injury or death presented by the unsafe working condition;
That the specific unsafe working condition was a violation of a state or federal safety statute, rule, or regulation, whether cited or not, or of a commonly accepted and well-known safety standard within the industry or business of such employer, which statute, rule, regulation, or standard was specifically applicable to the particular work and working condition involved, as contrasted with a statute, rule, regulation, or standard generally requiring safe workplaces, equipment (especially used heavy equipment for sale), or working conditions;
That the employer thereafter exposed an employee to such specific unsafe working condition intentionally; and
That the employee suffered serious injury or death as a direct and proximate result of such specific unsafe working condition.

In many workplace injury and wrongful death cases, there is a third party who can also be held liable for negligence. The third-party can include the manufacturer of a piece of defective industrial equipment, the property owner or a subcontractor working on the same job site. A skilled personal injury attorney knows how to find all the insurance available to a family after such tragedy.

If you have questions regarding workplace injuries or a wrongful death resulting from a work-related accident as well as for the drinking and driving accident claim management, call the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC today to find answers or to order free educational resources to help you make decisions about your best next step. 304-594-1800.

Related Articles:

New Regulations Mandate Proximity Detectors for Continuous Mining Machines

West Virginia Coal Mine Explosion: Many Questions, Few Answers

Quick Report: What you need to know if you have a Workplace Injury

Mining Accident in West Virginia

Source: The West Virginia Record, “Mine Fatality Results in Lawsuit,” by Annie Cosby, April 7, 2014.