FIRM WINS UNANIMOUS DEFENSE VERDICT IN MINE ACCIDENT CASE
Pete Sewell, Tom Peters and Charlie Walker recently secured a unanimous defense verdict in favor of a conveyor manufacturer in a 2-week trial in Gallatin County, Kentucky. The suit was brought by the Estate of a mine worker who fell off a conveyor at a local mine, and who later died from his injuries. The Estate was asking for more than $7 million in medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages. We were able to demonstrate that the conveyor involved in the accident was not defective or unreasonably dangerous, and that the cause of the accident was the failure of a the mine worker to follow federally-mandated safety regulations while working on the conveyor, and the failure of the mine to enforce those regulations. Additionally, we were able to convince the Court to allow a 5-foot replica section of the conveyor to be placed in the courtroom for the duration of the trial, so that witnesses could refer to the replica during their testimony. The replica was invaluable in convincing the jury that, if the mine worker has followed his federally-mandated safety training, the accident never would have happened.