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The Buffalo Creek Disaster : How the Survivors of One of the Worst Disasters in Coal-Mining History Brought Suit Against the Coal Company -- and Won.

By: Contributor(s): Publisher: New York : Vintage Books, 2008Copyright date: 2008Edition: Second Vintage books editionDescription: xiv, 282 pages ; 21 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780307388490
  • 0307388492
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 345.730242 S839b 2008
LOC classification:
  • KF228.P75 .S7 2008
Contents:
Foreword / by Bill Clinton -- Prologue -- Part One. The call for help ; "An act of God" ; "When in doubt, do the right thing" ; "Mountain Mama" ; "Take care of my baby" ; "They wasn't for sale" ; "Flagrant disregard" ; "Mere puff and blow" ; "Oyez, oyez, oyez" -- Part Two. "A more definite statement" ; "Pittston loses bid for secrecy" ; Some lawyer stories ; "What do you mean, 'dam'?" ; "It was a natural occurrence" ; "Nowhere else to put it" ; "What about existing dams?" ; "Psychic impairment" ; "Danger note" ; "Enough" -- Part Three. "Ambulance chasing" ; The statute of limitations ; A written settlement proposal ; "Flood at Lick Fork" ; "The potential for similar disasters" ; "Catch-22" ; A settlement meeting ; "Absent plaintiffs" ; "Unavailable" witnesses ; The "glaring deductible" ; "The dam was all right" ; Strategy -- Epilogue -- Afterword.
Summary: This volume describes the Buffalo Creek Flood -- and also the investigation and legal actions that followed. The Buffalo Creek Flood was a disaster that occurred in 1972 in West Virginia. An impoundment dam owned by the Pittston Coal Company burst, sending a 130 million gallon, 25 foot tidal wave of water, sludge, and debris crashing into southern West Virginia's Buffalo Creek hollow. It was one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history. 125 people were killed instantly, more than 1,000 were injured, and over 4,000 were suddenly homeless. Instead of accepting the small settlements offered by the coal company's insurance offices, a few hundred of the survivors banded together to sue. This is the story of their triumph over incredible odds and corporate irresponsibility, as told by the author -- a young lawyer and who took on the case and won.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
BOOK BOOK NCAR Library Foothills Lab KF228 .P75 .S7 2008 1 Available 50583020020339
Total holds: 0

"With a foreword by President Bill Clinton and a new afterword by the author" -- Cover.

First edition originally published: New York : Random House, 1976.

Foreword / by Bill Clinton -- Prologue -- Part One. The call for help ; "An act of God" ; "When in doubt, do the right thing" ; "Mountain Mama" ; "Take care of my baby" ; "They wasn't for sale" ; "Flagrant disregard" ; "Mere puff and blow" ; "Oyez, oyez, oyez" -- Part Two. "A more definite statement" ; "Pittston loses bid for secrecy" ; Some lawyer stories ; "What do you mean, 'dam'?" ; "It was a natural occurrence" ; "Nowhere else to put it" ; "What about existing dams?" ; "Psychic impairment" ; "Danger note" ; "Enough" -- Part Three. "Ambulance chasing" ; The statute of limitations ; A written settlement proposal ; "Flood at Lick Fork" ; "The potential for similar disasters" ; "Catch-22" ; A settlement meeting ; "Absent plaintiffs" ; "Unavailable" witnesses ; The "glaring deductible" ; "The dam was all right" ; Strategy -- Epilogue -- Afterword.

This volume describes the Buffalo Creek Flood -- and also the investigation and legal actions that followed. The Buffalo Creek Flood was a disaster that occurred in 1972 in West Virginia. An impoundment dam owned by the Pittston Coal Company burst, sending a 130 million gallon, 25 foot tidal wave of water, sludge, and debris crashing into southern West Virginia's Buffalo Creek hollow. It was one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history. 125 people were killed instantly, more than 1,000 were injured, and over 4,000 were suddenly homeless. Instead of accepting the small settlements offered by the coal company's insurance offices, a few hundred of the survivors banded together to sue. This is the story of their triumph over incredible odds and corporate irresponsibility, as told by the author -- a young lawyer and who took on the case and won.

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