The Scotia Widows: Inside Their Lawsuit Against Big Daddy Coal

The Scotia Widows is a tale of courage in the face of crippling grief, an American tragedy oft repeated in the dangerous jobs of men who daily descend into the earth to provide for their families, high-risk employment to be sure. Miner's families harbor no illusions, but they have every right to expect decent, safe work conditions. This small, powerful book describes the events of March 9, 1976, when fifteen miners are killed in the Scotia Mines in Eastern Kentucky, three and a half miles beneath the surface; two days later, eleven rescue workers are lost in a second explosion. The first explosion, caused by a high concentration of methane gas and coal dust, puts a violent end to the plans of fifteen families, a painful example of the volatility of their environment. And the company bears the burden of this outrage, for specific safety violations, inadequate ventilation, a lack of ventilation inspections and no trained rescue workers on the scene. The question is: will "Big Daddy Coal" accept responsibility or hide behind the warren-like hallways of the legal system. Stern, a trial attorney with intimate knowledge of such cases, the common man pitted against the intractable juggernaut of wealth and power, goes directly to the heart of the matter, the widows. It is through their stories that the public can identify with the enormity of their loss and the long, brutal path to justice that makes close friends of former strangers united in common cause. Challenging the industry is an enormous task and the Scotia widows and their determined attorney face four years of litigation and tremendous legal hurdles, a hostile judge, the determination of the mine owners, a critical lack of disclosure by a trial judge, a pro-coal lead defense counsel and a bevy of expensive attorneys with limitless pocketbooks. Depending on their legal representation to navigate this treacherous landscape, it is the widows who refuse to back down in spite of setbacks and daunting odds. One result: the landmark Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1976. It is to Stern's credit that he not only achieves a settlement for the original fifteen widows, but also for a number of the families who lost loved ones in the second explosion that took the lives of rescue workers. Yet, years later, there are more such outrageous accidents in Utah and Kentucky, proving that in spite of progress, this is an industry that flaunts safety for profit, the vast wealth of owners insulating them from worker's demands until such disasters once more claim the imagination of the nation. With this book as testament, the widow's cause is deeply personal, but also transcendent in the battle on behalf of the individual, the widows reclaiming their right to the American dream. Luan Gaines/2008.

In this era when too many people -- especially young people -- disdain the thought of going into law, I can envision students reading this small (145 pages) but mighty book and saying, "I want to be a lawyer!" The story of these women, and their David vs. Goliath battle, deserves to be told around campfires -- and made into a movie.