MSHA Voluntary Training

A voluntary training initiative was recently launched by federal mine safety officials after several recent fatal coal mining incidents. Four of the incidents occurred in West Virginia. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) assured mining officials that the training isn’t “… intended as an enforcement effort” and is not an inspection.

According to Tim Watkins, MSHA’s deputy administrator for coal mine safety and health, coal mine operators will be asked to take part in training that aims to help less-experienced miners and workers who have recently changed mines or job duties. MSHA officials want to discuss potential issues with workers and help operators improve their training programs, but they want to do it in as supportive a way as possible.

Watkins points to the seven coal mining deaths so far this year, a number that just halfway through the year is one short of the eight that occurred in all of 2016 as the reason for the voluntary training.  He also points out that this year’s incidents involved minors who were new to their specific job duties, even if they were experienced minors overall.

Have You Been Injured in a Mining Accident?

We represent people in coal mining injury and death cases. This includes workers compensation and third party claims. We also represent workers who are illegally fired by their employers after they file a workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit. Many of the cases we handle involve contractors for coal companies that are part of coal mining operations.

Any worker injured on the job should always call an experienced work injury lawyer for free phone advice, even if they are getting a workers’ compensation check and their medical bills are being paid. The reason for this is that the worker may not be getting all that they are legally entitled to get in terms of benefits. It’s also possible their final temporary total benefit rating may be underrated by the workers’ compensation insurance company doctors, and this could have a major impact on third party claims.

Coal companies and workers’ compensation insurance companies have lawyers on retainer helping them. Workers should have lawyers helping them too. For more information or to discuss your workers’ compensation with an experienced attorney, contact Heavens Law at 888.897.5377.