30Nov/080
Miners’ widows, company settle lawsuit
The widows of two miners killed in a 2006 coal mine fire in West Virginia have settled a wrongful death lawsuit against Massey Energy Co.
Details of the settlement weren't released Monday. The agreement came after four days of a civil trial in Logan County Circuit Court.
The widows of miners Don I. Bragg, 33, and Ellery Elvis Hatfield, 47, had sued the Richmond, Va.-based company, two subsidiaries and CEO Don Blankenship.
Bragg and Hatfield died after getting lost in thick smoke from a conveyer belt fire at the Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine in January 2006.
The lawsuit had claimed the nation's fourth-largest coal producer focused on profits over safety.