who was lawyer for buffalo creek

by Dr. Sherman Lesch I 8 min read

Lawyer Gerald Stern

Who was the Attorney for the Buffalo Creek disaster?

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Can Buffalo Creek survivors Sue Buffalo Mining Company in federal court?

Attorney profiles include the biography, education and training, and client recommendations of an attorney to help you decide who to hire. Use the contact form on the profiles to connect with a Buffalo Creek, Colorado attorney for legal advice.

What happened to Buffalo Creek?

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What happened to Pittston's Buffalo Creek case?

Sep 05, 1976 · Gerald Stern, who was the Buffalo Creek survivors' lawyer, quotes depositions and interviews that make it clear the tragedy could have been averted if the New York‐based Pittston Company, whose...

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What was the cause of the Buffalo Creek disaster?

The Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster occurred on the cold rainy Saturday morning of February 26, 1972, when a coal slurry dam failed. This failure, predicted by inspector results, caused a domino effect by causing the failure of two other dams.Sep 30, 2020

What was the actual settlement agreement in the Buffalo Creek disaster?

In an out of court settlement, the survivors were awarded $13.5 million, $6 million of which was distributed on the basis of a point system as compensation for the psychological damages.

What happened to Buffalo Creek?

Buffalo Creek Mine Disaster: Feb.

Three coal waste dams in West Virginia failed, killing 125 people and injuring 1,100 more in communities downstream of the dams. Approximately 550 homes were destroyed, and another 900-plus were damaged.
Feb 26, 2022

Who won the Buffalo Creek case?

The citizens' commission report, concluded that the Buffalo Creek-Pittston Coal Company was guilty of murdering at least 124 men, women and children.

What is coal mining slurry?

Coal slurry is a mixture of solids (mined coal or coal waste) and liquids (water or organic) produced by a coal preparation plant.

What towns were affected by the Buffalo Creek disaster?

The level of water that was released because of the dam failure was 40 times greater than 50-year flood levels. Sixteen towns that were affected were Saunders, Pardee, Lofado, Craneco, Lundale, Stowe, Crites, Latrobe, Robinette, Amherstdale, Becco, Fanco, Braeholm, Accoville, Crown, and Kistler.

What happened to Pittston coal Company?

Pittston Quits the Coal Business

In 1998, A.T. Massey Coal Co. bought Pittston's Elkay Division, including most of its operations in Logan County and southern West Virginia.

How many towns communities were hit by the coal waste water as it ran down the Buffalo Creek Valley?

26, 1972, at approximately 8 a.m., a coal slurry impoundment dam owned by Pittston Coal Company burst, releasing 132 million gallons of water, coal refuse and silt into the Buffalo Creek community. Black waves of water with crests over 30 feet high rampaged through 17 communities destroying everything in its path.Feb 27, 2018

When did the Buffalo Creek flood happen?

4,000+ left homeless. The Buffalo Creek flood was a disaster that occurred on February 26, 1972, when a coal slurry impoundment dam managed by the Pittston Coal Company and located on a hillside in Logan County, West Virginia, burst, four days after having been declared "satisfactory" by a federal mine inspector.

How much did Dennis Prince get sued for?

Dennis Prince and some 625 survivors of the flood sued the Pittston Coal Company, seeking $64 million in damages (equivalent to $331.8 million today). They settled in June 1974 for $13.5 million ($70 million today), or approximately $13,000 for each individual after legal costs ($67,000 today). A second suit was filed by 348 child survivors, who sought $225 million ($1.17 billion today); they settled for $4.8 million in June 1974 ($24.9 million today).

Who was the miracle baby in the flood?

Kerry Albright became known as the "miracle baby" of the disaster. Running from the leading edge of the water, his mother threw him just above the flood level moments before she drowned. He survived with few ill effects, and was reared by his father. His survival gave hope and inspiration to other survivors.

Who wrote the Buffalo Creek Disaster?

One, The Buffalo Creek Disaster, about the case itself, was by Jerry Stern. Although a book for laymen, it is still used in many law school civil procedure courses. The other, a runner-up for a National Book Award in 1975, is Everything In Its Path, by Kai Erikson describing the story of the disaster from a sociologist's point of view.

When did the Buffalo Creek dam collapse?

On February 26, 1972, a huge earthen dam constructed by a coal company without any engineering input collapsed. In a few short minutes, the dam virtually disappeared, and a torrent of water began a 17-mile trip down the narrow Buffalo Creek valley in rural Logan County, West Virginia.

What happened to Buffalo Creek?

On the morning of February 26, 1972, the failure of three coal slurry dams let loose a tidal wave of destruction upon the Buffalo Creek hollow in Logan county, West Virginia.

When did the Buffalo Creek flood happen?

The historic Buffalo Creek flood tore through a region often exploited by industry—and stereotyped by outsiders. On the morning of February 26, 1972, the failure of three coal slurry dams let loose a tidal wave of destruction upon the Buffalo Creek hollow in Logan county, West Virginia. With little warning to residents, ...

How many people died in the Buffalo Creek flood?

By the day’s end, hundreds of homes and vehicles were destroyed, thousands were left homeless, and 125 men, women, and children were dead. The flood, known as the Buffalo Creek disaster, is considered one of the worst disasters in both American and Mountain State history.

Who is Tom Breiding?

Tom Breiding, a Pittsburgh singer-songwriter with West Virginia roots, saw this firsthand when he traveled to Buffalo Creek for research while composing his 2008 album The Unbroken Circle: Songs of the West Virginia Coalfields.

Who is Stephen Young?

Stephen Young, a Marshall University professor and criminologist, recently wrote an article focused on the 2014 Elk River chemical spill, which left 300,000 West Virginians without clean water. Young ranks the spill as but one more state crime in a long list of state crimes, a list on which Buffalo Creek is also included.

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Overview

Investigation

Two commissions investigated the disaster. The first, the Governor's Ad Hoc Commission of Inquiry, appointed by Governor Arch A. Moore Jr., was made up entirely of either members sympathetic to the coal industry or government officials whose departments might have been complicit in the genesis of the flood. One of the investigators was Jack Spadaro, a man who devoted his time to regulating dam construction for safety. After then-president of the United Mi…

Terrain and sequence of events

There were three dams on the site. Dam #3 failed first. Located about 260 feet (79 m) above the town of Saunders, it was built on top of coal slurry sediment that had collected behind dams #1 and #2, instead of on solid bedrock. It was constructed of coarse mining refuse dumped into the Middle Fork of Buffalo Creek.
Dam #3's failure was followed by heavy rains. The water from dam #3 then overwhelmed dams …

Results

Dennis Prince and some 625 survivors of the flood sued the Pittston Coal Company, seeking $64 million in damages (equivalent to $351.7 million today). They settled in June 1974 for $13.5 million ($74.2 million today), or approximately $13,000 for each individual after legal costs ($71,000 today). A second suit was filed by 348 child survivors, who sought $225 million ($1.24 billion today); they settled for $4.8 million in June 1974 ($26.4 million today).

Environmental impacts

Prior to the disaster, Buffalo Creek was a popular fishing spot. Due to the effects of the flood, Buffalo Creek would not support aquatic life "long after the Feb. 26, 1972 disaster", according to a 2022 account by The Associated Press. After extensive cleanup and remediation efforts, trout restocking began in 2006. By February 2022, 50 years after the accident, trout were once again plentiful in Buffalo Creek.

See also

• Aberfan disaster
• Coal slurry
• Martin County coal slurry spill
• Sludge (film)
• The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man, a 1974 documentary film about the disaster

Bibliography

• Kai T. Erikson (1976). Everything in Its Path. Simon and Schuster. pp. 284. ISBN 0-671-24067-6.
• Gerald M. Stern, The Buffalo Creek Disaster ISBN 0-394-72343-0

External links

• "Voices of Buffalo Creek". Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on April 5, 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2005.
• "Buffalo Creek Flood". Marshall University Special Collections. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
• "Buffalo Creek Flood". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Retrieved October 28, 2007.