MADISON – The widow of veteran miner blames two coal companies and others for his death after he was crushed by a dislodged rock while working to seal an unused portion of a Raleigh County mine.
Bridgett Stalker and the estate of Billy Shawn Stalker filed their complaint July 14 in Boone Circuit Court against Alpha Metallurgical Resource Inc., Marfork Coal Company LLC, Black Eagle Coal Mine, Maxxim Shared Services LLC, Andrew Pauley and Michael Vaught. Stalker lives in Elkhorn City, Ky.
Pauley is the general mine foreman for Black Eagle Mine, and Vaught is the safety manager for the mine. Maxxim is an affiliate of Alpha.
According to the complaint, Billy Stalker had nearly 30 years of mining experience. He was employed by Wright Concrete & Construction to perform work at Alpha and Marfork’s Black Eagle Coal Mine in Packsville in Raleigh County. Wright Concrete operates an underground division that provides mine sealing and related services to active and inactive mining operations.
On February 28, Stalker and his crew were working underground at the mine preparing an inactive area to be sealed off. He and his crew had a safety meeting early that morning, according to the complaint, before the crew arrived at the site within the mine around 7:30 a.m.
The job included the use of a forklift to “stretch out a ‘slick line’” as well as delivering steel roof jacks and rearranging pallets of seal material. Stalker was assigned to operate a jackhammer to prepare the work area for sealing.
The jackhammering began around 1 p.m., according to the complaint. Around 2:30 p.m. while taking a break, a large section of the rib collapsed and rolled onto Stalker’s torso. The dislodged rock was about 68 inches wide, 23 inches long and 8 inches thick. It weighed about 1,100 pounds, according to the complaint.
“The massive rock remained on Billy Stalker’s body while three crew members
removed it from him,” the complaint states. “As a result of the rib roll, Billy Stalker immediately reported difficulty breathing and severe chest pain. First aid was administered at the scene, including the application of high-flow oxygen.”
Stalker was immobilized and placed on a backboard for emergency transport. During the evacuation, Stalker became unresponsive and stopped breathing. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was deployed but failed to administer a shock, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated by a crew member and other responders.
About an hour later, Stalker was transferred to emergency responders when the mantrip reached the surface. But Stalker did not survive.
The complaint says the defendants required a company employee to remain at the scene “who began to alter the incident site instead of transporting to the surface with all other employees/contractors.”
It also says the defendants failed to scale or properly examine the mine roof to ensure the work area it assigned to Stalker was reasonably safe.
Both the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the West Virginia Office of Mine Safety, Health and Training launched formal investigations to determine the cause of the incident and evaluate compliance with federal and state mine safety laws and regulations.
The state issued 10 violations, including failure to complete necessary pre-shift examinations for at least eight consecutive days prior to the fatal incident, failure to abide by the defendants’ roof control plan, while failing to adequately provide necessary support to mines roof and ribs in the area of the incident, and various ventilation issues.
MSHA concluded the deadly incident occurred “because the mine operator did not: 1) support or otherwise control the rib to protect miners, and 2) conduct adequate preshift examinations.”
“Billy Stalker’s death was preventable and occurred as a direct and proximate result of unsafe working conditions and violations of applicable mine safety standards and industry practices,” the complaint states.
Bridgett Stalker and the estate accuses the defendants of wrongful death, negligence, vicarious liability, negligent staffing, negligent training, negligent supervision, premises liability, statutory violations and negligence per se. Bridgett Stalker also seeks damages for loss of consortium.
The estate and Bridgett Stalker seek joint and several compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Nathan D. Brown and Joshua S. Ferrell of Ferrell & Brown in Williamson. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Stacy L. Nowicki-Eldridge.
Boone Circuit Court case number 25-C-51
