Coal mining has been a cornerstone of West Virginia’s economy. However, it has not been without risks of workers getting injured while at the mines. Accidents in coal mines can leave workers with severe injuries, financial hardship, and challenging legal claims.
At Robinette Legal Group, PLLC, our Morgantown coal mining accident injury lawyers are committed to evaluating your case and helping you secure financial resources to cover your damages. We have over two decades of experience in personal injury cases in Morgantown, and we have a deep understanding of West Virginia’s coal industry. If you have suffered an injury in a coal mining accident in Morgantown, don’t hesitate to contact us immediately for legal advice and support.
Why Work With Robinette Legal Group for Your Coal Mining Accident Case
Choosing the right legal team after a coal mining accident can profoundly impact your ability to secure fair compensation. And since mining accident injuries tend to be catastrophic, you don’t want to make the wrong choice.
At Robinette Legal Group, PLLC, we have over 20 years of experience advocating for people injured in various accidents. Our firm is led by Jeff Robinette, a National Board Certified Trial Attorney with a proven history of securing substantial settlements for workplace injury victims. This background gives our firm an edge when it comes to advocating for clients with high-stakes cases, such as those injured in the coal mines.
Also, Jeff’s background as a former insurance defense attorney equips us with unique insight into the tactics used by insurance companies and corporations to minimize payouts. This knowledge allows us to anticipate and counter their strategies, securing millions in settlements, including multi-million-dollar recoveries for catastrophic injuries like those from mine collapses or machinery accidents. If you work with a coal mining accident injury attorney from our firm, you will likely secure a settlement reflecting your current and ongoing suffering.
Our firm prioritizes building strong relationships with our clients, treating each individual as part of our extended family. This dedication ensures you receive tailored support throughout your legal journey. You’ll enjoy direct access to your attorney, so you can benefit from timely updates every step of the way.
In addition, our team has the resources and skills to invest in high-quality evidence, such as expert witnesses and custom visuals like day-in-the-life videos. It allows us to illustrate how your coal mine injuries have affected your life. We can effectively level the playing field against powerful mining companies and insurers to help obtain justice. Contact us right away to learn how we can support you after a coal mining accident.
Coal Mining Accident Compensation
In Morgantown, coal mining accident victims may pursue compensation through personal injury lawsuits. The potential recovery can address their injuries’ financial, physical, and emotional toll. The compensation available and the amount you can secure depend on various damages, such as:
- Medical Expenses: This covers all costs related to your injury, including emergency care, surgeries, hospitalizations, medications, and rehabilitation. Future medical expenses, such as ongoing therapy or assistive devices for permanent injuries like spinal damage, are also included.
- Lost Earnings: Compensates for income lost during recovery, from the accident date until you return to work. If the injury prevents you from returning to mining or similar work, you may claim loss of future earning capacity to account for reduced income potential.
- Pain and Suffering: Addresses the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the injury, such as chronic pain from a crush injury or anxiety from a near-fatal explosion. This non-economic damage reflects the impact on your quality of life.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensates for the inability to engage in activities you once enjoyed, like sports or family outings, due to disabilities from injuries like amputations or respiratory damage.
- Punitive Damages: Awarded in exceptional cases where the employer or a third party’s conduct was grossly negligent, such as ignoring known safety hazards. These damages aim to punish the wrongdoer and deter future misconduct.
The value of these damages varies based on many factors in your case. Here are the factors that can influence the amount of your compensation:
- Severity of the Injury: More severe injuries, like traumatic brain injuries or paralysis, result in higher compensation due to increased medical costs and life-altering impacts. Minor injuries, like fractures, yield lower payouts. In cases where injuries lead to wrongful death, you can pursue additional compensation for the surviving family members.
- Healthcare Costs: Current and future medical expenses, as documented through bills and expert testimony, directly increase economic damages. For example, a miner requiring lifelong respiratory therapy would see higher compensation.
- The Amount of Lost Income: Your pre-injury earnings, occupation, and age influence compensation for lost earnings and future earning capacity. A young miner unable to return to work faces greater losses than someone nearing retirement.
- Degree of Disability: Permanent disabilities, such as loss of limb or black lung disease, increase damages for both economic and non-economic losses, as they limit work and daily activities.
- The Intensity of Suffering: The extent of physical and emotional distress, supported by medical records and personal testimony, affects non-economic damages. Severe injuries may lead to higher awards.
- Negligence Involved: West Virginia’s modified comparative negligence rule reduces compensation if you’re partially at fault. If you’re over 50 percent responsible, you may recover nothing. Also, we can help prove deliberate intent by your employer or negligence by a third party, such as a contractor. While this may lead to higher damages through punitive damages awards, strong evidence is key.
- Quality of Legal Representation: Personal injury attorneys focusing on industrial accident injuries, like those involving coal mining, are better positioned to handle your case effectively. They know what evidence is required in such cases and how to present it to secure a fair outcome.
Our Morgantown coal mining injury attorneys will consider the unique factors of your case to properly value your claim and seek financial compensation on your behalf. We’ll evaluate every relevant detail of your situation to determine compensation that genuinely reflects the coal mine accident’s impact on your life.
Coal Mining Accidents in Morgantown
Coal mining accidents in Morgantown and Monongalia County occur primarily in underground and surface mines operated by companies leveraging the region’s rich coal deposits. While specific mine locations are not always publicly disclosed, accidents can occur in facilities along industrial corridors, such as the Monongahela River or near Route 7, where mining infrastructure is concentrated.
Common accident sites include underground tunnels, where roof falls or gas explosions occur, and surface mines, where heavy equipment like haul trucks poses risks. There are related incidents related to mining traffic or equipment transport on streets like Sabraton Avenue near industrial zones. Robinette Legal Group has handled cases involving methane ignitions and conveyor belt injuries. Some of the injuries associated with mining accidents include:
- Coal stockpile collapse
- Roof or longwall shield failure
- Shuttle car collision
- Faulty equipment malfunction
- Missing safety gear incidents
- Beltline mishap
- Methane explosion
- Dust exposure injury
- Conveyor pinch point accident
- Mine flooding
- Cave-in or tunnel collapse
- Electrical shock injury
- Blasting mishap
- Inadequate training accidents
- Support system failure
- Coal truck accidents
- Pit wall failure
- Dragline failure
- Burn injuries
Miners in West Virginia are protected by rights under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. The Act grants miners several rights, including the right to report safety violations without fear of retaliation, request inspections for hazardous conditions, and receive safety training. It also enhances these protections to ensure access to emergency response plans, post-accident communication systems, and the right to refuse unsafe work.
However, negligence, such as inadequate ventilation or faulty machinery, has been the leading cause of the incidents. If your rights are violated and this contributed to an accident, Robinette Legal Group can help pursue justice. Our Morgantown coal mining accident injury lawyers can help demonstrate negligence to secure a fair recovery.
Fighting the Insurance Company
Pursuing a coal mining accident claim against an insurance company can be incredibly stressful and overwhelming. Insurers are often focused on minimizing payouts rather than ensuring fair compensation for claimants. Whether representing mining companies or third parties, they can use bad faith practices to ensure they offer you a low settlement that may leave you struggling with expenses. Some of the tactics they use include:
- Delaying Tactics: Insurers may purposely delay processing claims, requesting extensive documentation or additional information to prolong the settlement process and pressure claimants to accept less.
- Lowball Settlement Offers: Insurance companies may initially offer a low settlement amount in the hopes that the claimant will accept it without realizing the true value of their claim.
- Disputing Liability: Insurers may try to shift blame onto the claimant or dispute liability for the accident to reduce or deny the claim payout.
- Denial of Claims: In some cases, insurance companies may deny valid claims, hoping that claimants will not pursue further action or seek legal representation.
- Undervaluing Injuries: Insurers may downplay the severity of a claimant’s injuries or push for quick settlements before the full extent of the injuries is known, leading to inadequate compensation.
As you can see, facing these powerful entities alone can result in compensation that falls short of covering medical costs, lost income, or future needs. However, a lawyer from our firm can help deal with these challenges. They will advocate for your best interests and negotiate to secure the rightful compensation. Our lawyers will work diligently to gather key evidence, build a robust case, and ensure that the insurance company treats you fairly.
What to Do After a Coal Mining Accident
What you do after a coal mining accident in Morgantown can break or strengthen your personal injury case. It is because insurers will look at the events that led up to the injury and what you did after the incident. You need to be smart when it comes to doing the right things that can bolster your claim. The legal team at our firm recommends taking the following steps:
Adhere to Your Treatment Regimen
Make sure to follow your doctor’s prescribed treatment plan, including medications, follow-up visits, and rehabilitation. Consistent compliance shows the seriousness of your injuries and your dedication to recovery, countering insurer claims that your condition isn’t severe. This documentation will support your claims for medical expenses and pain and suffering.
Retain Detailed Financial Records
Collect receipts for all accident-related expenses, such as medications, medical equipment, or travel to appointments. These records provide evidence of your economic damages so you can recover your out-of-pocket costs. They are also key in strengthening your claim against undervaluation by the insurer.
Document Your Experience
We highly recommend maintaining a daily journal to document your pain, emotional struggles, and how the injury affects your work and personal life. By recording your daily experiences, you are creating an account of how the accident has impacted your life. This documentation is key evidence of the toll the injuries took.
Obtain Copies of MSHA or Police Reports
Secure copies of any MSHA investigation reports or police reports related to the accident. These documents can detail unsafe conditions or negligence, providing essential evidence to establish liability, particularly in cases involving equipment failures or explosions.
Bring All Information to Robinette Legal Group
Share your treatment records, receipts, journal, and MSHA or police reports with our legal team. Our attorneys use these materials to build compelling cases to maximize compensation. Early submission ensures we can preserve evidence and pursue justice. So don’t delay contacting us to allow us to fight for compensation for your Morgantown coal mining accident injury.
Call Us Now for a Free Case Evaluation
If you have been involved in a coal mining accident in Morgantown, you have legal options. At our firm, we have helped many victims of workplace injuries secure justice for their injuries and losses. The Morgantown coal mining accident injury Lawyers at Robinette Legal Group, PLLC, know deeply about coal mine accident laws and regulations, and they can manage the legal process effectively to your advantage.
When Robinette Legal Group takes on your case, we will draw on our experience to deal with the legal challenges and work towards achieving a fair outcome. Call (304) 594-1800 today to help you seek justice for your losses.
Robinette Legal Group, PLLC – Morgantown Office Location
211 Everhart Dr Ste 200,
Morgantown, WV 26508,
United States
Contact Number – (304) 403-7504
Call us today to find out how we can help you.
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