Kentucky Injury Attorney Blog

Attorney Lawrence L. Jones II and Jones Ward PLC were in the national spotlight this week for their role in the case of Michael Nash, a Louisville man who is suing the federal government for $10 million due to a penis amputation. Numerous television stations and newspapers, some as far away as England, ran stories about the lawsuit, and it was the focus of a special report on CNN.

What wasn't mentioned in those segments is the fact that the attorneys at Jones Ward PLC deal with these kinds of cases on a daily basis. For example, the law firm currently represents a coal miner who had his foot and lower leg amputated in a job-related accident in eastern Kentucky. It also represents individuals who have had body parts amputated due to failed medical implants. Perhaps the saddest amputation case of all was a jury trial in which the attorneys at Jones Ward successfully argued in favor of a woman who witnessed the amputation of her newborn baby's head in the hospital as the baby was being born. The jury awarded the woman $1.4 million.

These serious and tragic amputation cases demand specific legal knowledge. They also require an attorney who is both familiar with amputation law, and passionate about making sure the injured person is compensated for his or her loss. To learn more about how the attorneys at Jones Ward PLC can help in an amputation case, call 502-882-6000 and ask for Lawrence Jones, TJ Massey or Alex Davis for a free case evaluation.

A new study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that even surface miners in Appalachia are developing severe cases of black lung. Thought to be primarily an underground mining danger, black lung is a condition caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust. The lungs cannot easily expel the coal dust and it causes inflammation, fibrosis, and even necrosis.

Because surface miners do not operate in confined spaces, it was thought that they were not at as high a risk of developing the potentially deadly disease. Approximately 10% of surface miners that were tested for the study had some form of the illness. Most of them had never worked in underground mines. Workers are exposed to coal dust when operating heavy machinery, which does not protect the workers.

A positive test for black lung entitles a worker to be transferred to a less dusty job without a reduction in pay. But many above-ground miners have no idea that they are at risk of developing black lung and may never be tested.

While repairing a broken conveyer chain, 23 year-old Richard Coots Jr. was killed at 2 a.m. Friday morning when a mobile bridge fell and pinned him underneath. Coots was an electrician for Owlco Energy LLC.

This is the fourth mining-related death in Kentucky in 2011. Coots died from crushing injuries. The mine has been closed by state officials, who are interviewing Coots' co-workers.

Continue reading "Richard Coots Jr. Killed in Letcher County Coal Mine" »