As an Indiana Construction Accident Lawyer in Indianapolis, I have seen workplace safety violations that bordered on the criminal. Now, for the first time, a chief executive officer of a major mining company is going to jail for willfully violating safety rules that resulted in the death of 29 workers in West Virginia. Massey Mining CEO Don Blankenship was sentenced today to 12 months in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was convicted of conspiring to evade basic workplace safety rules in the deaths of 29 of his company’s employees in a mining disaster April 5, 2010. Note that I did not use the term “accident” because these workers’ lives could have been saved if basic workplace safety rules and equipment been provided. Instead it was classic profit over people mentality, taking safety shortcuts and hoping the luck would keep as long as the coal did.

Here is a link to the Wall Street Journal Article for further information.