Dave Lindorff: "Massey Energy Bought Workers Comp Insurance Coverage Shortly Before Mine Explosion" @ This Can't Be Happening!

Massey Energy Corp., owner of the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia where at least 25 miners were killed April 5 in a methane gas explosion, apparently arranged for and purchased disability compensation insurance coverage only a month before the disaster, according to one source with inside knowledge about the company’s risk management operations.
       Prior to that, the company, known for its aggressive challenges to workers’ comp claims, was self-insured for workers compensation.
       But given the number of safety violations at its mines--53 at the Upper Big Branch Mine in March alone, and 495 in 2009--perhaps the money spent buying insurance to cover workers’ injury claims might have been better spent fixing chronic problems with methane gas build-ups in the mine.
       The company certainly has not shown particularly good judgement when it comes to its insurance decisions.  Last year, despite noting in its annual report that its operations were “subject to certain events and conditions that could disrupt operations, including fires and explosions,” Massey Energy decided not to purchase business interruption insurance, according to Business Week magazine....

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Thanks!
Dave