The Scotia Widows: Inside Their Lawsuit Against Big Daddy Coal

by Gerald Stern

On March 9, 1976, a violent explosion, fueled by high concentrations of methane gas and coal dust, ripped through the Scotia mine in the heart of Eastern Kentucky coal country. The blast killed fifteen miners who were working nearly three and a half miles underground; two days later, a second explosion took the lives of eleven rescue workers. For the miners’ surviving family members, the loss of their husbands, fathers, and sons was only the beginning of their nightmare.

In The Scotia Widows , Gerald M. Stern, the groundbreaking litigator and acclaimed author of The Buffalo Creek Disaster , recounts the epic four-year legal struggle waged by the widows in the aftermath of the disaster. Stern shares a story of loss, scandal, and perseverance–and the plaintiffs’ fight for justice against the titanic forces of “Big Daddy Coal.”

Confronted at nearly every turn by a hostile judge and the scorched-earth defense of the Scotia mine’s owners, family members also withstood the opprobrium of some of their neighbors, most of whom relied on coal mining for their livelihoods. Meanwhile, Stern, representing the widows of the disaster on contingency, amassed huge bills and encountered a litany of formidable obstacles. The Eastern Kentucky trial judge withheld disclosure of his own personal financial interest in coal mining, and a popular pro-coal former Kentucky governor served as the lead defense counsel. The judge also suppressed as evidence the federal mine study that pointed to numerous safety violations at the Scotia In a rush to produce more coal, necessary ventilation had been short-circuited, miners had not been trained in the use of self-rescue equipment, and ventilation inspections had not been made. Moreover, Scotia did not even have a trained rescue team. Ultimately, the Scotia widows’ ordeal helped to inspire the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which changed safety regulations for coal mines throughout the country.

The Scotia Widows portrays in gripping detail young women deciding to pursue a landmark legal campaign against powerful corporate interests and the judge who protected them. It is a critically important and timeless story of ordinary people who took a stand and refused to give up hope for justice.

Praise for The Scotia Widows :

“This is a very scary story, a guided tour of the grinding cogs and spinning wheels inside the machinery of justice. Gerald Stern’s compassionate account of the ordeal of the Scotia widows shows you how horribly out of kilter it can all get when greed and self-interest are at the controls. Only with luck and the expertise of Stern does justice emerge in the end, a bit tarnished but still intact.”
–Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Gerald Stern, the author of seventeen poetry collections, has won the National Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Ruth Lilly Prize, and the Wallace Stevens Award, among others. He lives in Lambertville, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Jenni Robinson fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am one of the women that Gerald Stern wrote about......I was very pleased that he wrote a true account of the legal part of our lives. Thanks for reading.

[Granny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and compelling read about a rare case of ordinary people fighting (and winning!) against the coal companies.

I hesitate to describe it in more detail, the twists and turns of this case are part of the reason why this book is a real page-turner. The other part is the author's compassion and clarity about the people of eastern Kentucky, their little daily triumphs and their occasional tragedies. The widows of the dead miners come together to do the unthinkable - receive justice.

Be sure to read the author's excellent book on the Buffalo Creek disaster.

[Tory Wagner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Scotia Widows by Gerald Stein chronicles the lawsuit Stein brought against the Blue Diamond Could Company following the death of miners from carbon monoxide poisoning. It's an interesting review of the case and the court battle that ensued to get justice for the widows and children of the miners. Hopefully this type of outrageous behavior does not happen in this day and age.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written by the attorney who helped the widows of the men killed in the explosion at the Kentucky Scotia Coal Mine get justice.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly exciting read. The corporate greed and inhumane treatment of workers will make your blood boil.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

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. 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.

I recently realized that some of my ancestors both in the USA and back in Europe were coal miners, which made the book even more moving for me. If you appreciated the tale of Erin Brockovich, you will love this book as well.

[Ice · Rating 3 out of 5]

On March 9, 1976, an explosion in the Scotia mine in eastern Kentucky widowed 15 women. They asked Stern, a public interest lawyer, to represent them in suing the coal company based on his successful fight against the corporate coal companies that he'd recounted in his book The Buffalo Creek Disaster.

Here Stern offers a spare, lucid account of how the widows won a lawsuit against their husbands' employer despite obstacles that included community obloquy for suing the job-providing mining company, unfavorable laws designed to protect corporate mining, abusive defense tactics and the active hostility of the trial judge. What sets Stern's effort apart from other David and Goliath legal stories is his impressive ability to explain in the simplest language complex legal issues, trial dynamics and strategy, and the role played by the intangibles of personality, bias and local culture in a lawsuit's outcome.

Stern is also adept at keeping himself out of the story and allowing readers to come to their own conclusions based on the facts of the case and the moving words of the widows.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerald Stern could have written a more detailed, personality-rich story about the successful case he brought on behalf of the Scotia widows against the Blue Diamond Coal Company in the late 1970s. As a reader, I would have liked to have known more about the women involved, and how they managed in the years after the 1976 mine disaster that killed their husbands. I would have liked to have heard more about how they fended off relatives who pressured them to give up the case. But that isn’t the book that Gerald Stern wrote, not really. And if you accept that this slim, clearly-written book is mostly about how the case unfolded; the decisions Stern and his legal team made along the way; and the roles played by the various judges—including an evil, smug one and one thoughtful, honest one—then this is a very good book. Very glad I read it, and I look forward to reading Stern’s Buffalo Creek Disaster.

[Barb McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very little information about the central characters in this account of a coal mining disaster law suit. The book tends to center on the legal maneuvers that allowed the author to proceed to a settlement but even that description is lacking. This account is not in the tradition of books like A Civil Action but if you want to know how Big Coal suppressed the litigants' rights to sue them, this is a good introduction to how making money wins out over safety.

[Catherine Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of 15 widows whose husbands were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in 1976. Written by the lawyer who took their case and eventually won a substantial settlement for them. I really like to read true accounts where the little guy wins.

[Beckie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read - more legal than about the mining accident but still interesting.

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like Buffalo Creek, a must read, especially for lawyers who doubt the good that can come from a commitment to pro bono representation of needy litigants. Great book; well done Jerry Stern.