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Originally posted by JennRN
Ok, suing the company is not the answer. Don't you think that the miners knew the risks they were taking by accepting that job? Should a Marine's mom, whose son gets killed in Iraq, be able to sue the Marines? Or, should the wife of a roughneck who works on an oil rig in the gulf, be able to sue the oil company if there's an explosion on the rig? These people know there are risks in their job-but they do it anyway. Some jobs cannot be made 100% safe.
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I agree with you that some jobs can't be made 100% safe, JennRN. But I do think there's a big difference between someone signing up for the Marines and someone working in a mine or on an oil rig. As a soldier, your job is to protect your country at all cost, and every enlisted soldier knows that there is a chance that he/she may be shot at one day... that's what war is about. On the other hand, a miner or an oil rig worker certainly realizes that his job is dangerous, but I would think that most of them are counting on their employers to follow governmental regulations designed to keep them safe on the job.
The original reports that came out on this mining company stated that the company had been cited many, many times last month for safety violations. That's what I had the problem with -- based on the news reports it appeared that the company knew there were some big safety issues with the Sago mine and kept the miners working in there anyway. To me, that smacked of corporate irresponsibility and I thought that some lawsuits from the grieving family members were in order.
However, DeltAlum posted (after I had voiced my opinions about the situation) that the safety violations did not seem to be major ones, and that folks may be jumping to conclusions by immediately blaming the company. Based on that information, I rethought my original position and am trying to hold off on any further judgments until all the facts are known.
By the way, I just saw an article online stating that the mining company is setting up a $2 million fund for the miners' families and is asking for donations from other sources as well. That looks like they're taking a step in the right direction, and I'm happy to see that they're trying to help care for the families. I don't know if threats of lawsuits or an outpouring of compassion got the ball rolling, but I'm glad to see that something's in the works.