Workplace Accident / Negligence / Wrongful Death
11/30/2012 - Confidential
Tony Cruse v. Unnamed Defendants. A 45 year-old underground miner was killed when a large boulder detached from the ceiling of the mine, crushing him and his equipment. The mining company was on notice of unsafe conditions, because a boulder had fallen in a nearby area two months prior, and an mining engineer inspected the mine and alerted the mining company to the dangers. The engineer failed, however, to recommend that mining be discontinued in the hazardous area.
The firm filed suit against the mining company as well as the engineer for their independent acts of negligence, collecting from each party in settlement. The firm defeated a summary judgment motion by the mining engineer in which the engineer alleged he owed no duty to the deceased. The firm was further able to obtain a settlement from the mining company notwithstanding their argument that they were entitled to the workers’ compensation bar.