May 10, 2008 Evansville, IN - A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a mining company by the spouse of a Wyoming man who fell approximately 550 feet to his death in a coal mine air shaft.
The lawsuit is alleging negligence on the part of Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc. because they did not provide proper safety measures to 66-year-old Daniel McFadden. In addition to McFadden, Todd Richardson, 38, and Jarred Ashmore, 23, also fell to their deaths. The men were taking an August 2007 tour of the mining shaft when they all fell from the construction bucket that was holding them.
The lawsuit alleges that safety belts and harnesses were not provided to the men to prevent them from falling. There was also a shackle and a 20-foot nylon sling that was attached to the bottom of the bucket that was not detached after the men had entered the bucket to begin their tour of the shaft. In addition, an employee had been assigned to watch the men, but, according to the lawsuit, left the area to do other work while the men were in the bucket.
Attorneys for Sandra Lee McFadden, Daniel McFadden's wife, filed the lawsuit on her behalf in U.S. District Court and are seeking $9.5 million in damages. The lawsuit is also seeking that lost income and funeral expenses be compensated.
The corporate safety director for the mining company, George Zugel, has said to the media that he is not aware that there was a lawsuit; therefore he has declined any type of comment.
As for why McFadden was at the mine, he was involved with the 30th anniversary celebration that was celebrating the merger of his company, Frontier Constructors, with Kemper that took place in 1977.
A report that was issued in March 2008 by the Indiana Bureau of Mines and Mine Safety said that the bucket had traveled down approximately 20 feet when the nylon sling had wedged itself in a door, which caused the bucket to tip. This caused the men to experience blunt impact trauma, which was the cause of their deaths.
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