PITTSBURGH — A lawsuit was filed Thursday against the United States government on behalf of a widow of a coal miner killed in the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, alleging the Mine Safety and Health Administration did not do enough to prevent the disaster from happening.
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys with Stanley & Schmitt PC, claims MSHA had full knowledge of the poor practices of Massey Energy following the Aracoma Alma Mine accident in 2006, which killed two coal miners, and did little to prevent the disaster at Upper Big Branch mine that left 29 coal miners dead.
The plaintiff, Carolyn Diana Davis, was notified on Oct. 19, 2017, that the federal government had denied an administrative claim on behalf of the estate of her husband, Charles Timothy Davis.
The lawsuit claims Carolyn Diana Davis had misplaced her original claim she submitted to the Department of Labor. The department was asked to provide a copy of the original claim, but no response was ever produced.