Most of the balance was distributed to the adult plaintiffs, in part for property losses but most substantially for what we had all come to call "psychic impairment.". So that a substantial recovery could be obtained, the suit was brought against Pittston, a major coal company which was the parent of the entity that purportedly owned the dam. Stern, G.M. (4) U.S. Congress (1972). On February 26, 1972, heavy rains and resulting floods caused the collapse of a coal waste dam on Buffalo Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork River near Man, in Logan County, in the southwestern corner of West Virginia. 239 S. Limestone Street A young boy who survived the flood surveys the damage as others begin cleaning up on Feb. 26, 1972 (Photo source: The Herald-Dispatch copyright 1999). What is meant by the phrase, "piercing…. What was once a close knit set of communities along the 17-mile valley was essentially destroyed. To be able to recover against the parent and to preserve diversity jurisdiction, only Pittston was named, on a piercing the corporate veil theory. Hearing before the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs United States Senate July 20, 1972. September 2, 1972 West Virginia Ad Hoc Commission of Inquiry into the Buffalo Creek Flood released its report.The Commission concluded after eight public hearings, 91 witnesses, and 2,000 pages of transcript that Pittston “has shown flagrant disregard for the safety of residents of Buffalo Creek and other persons who live near coal-refuse impoundments.” What was the settlement for? Over the course of several years, that fund was used to help build a community center in the village that was being reconstructed nearest the dam, to build and equip the first fire station in the valley, to help fund the erection of a health clinic in the valley, and for other matters. Those at the lower end of the valley suffered serious flood damage. The Buffalo Creek Disaster • Buffalo Creek Hollow was a small valley that consisted of about seventeen coal communities which were adjacent to Buffalo Creek • When operation of the mine commenced in 1945 the practice dumping of slurry, or coal mining waste into the hollow also began. The case also spawned two books. Buffalo Creek Flood/Disaster (1972)-125 killed, 4000 homeless, 1100 injured The book written byGerald M. Stern mainly focuses on one of his legal cases, which he was emotionally involved despite that he was the main lawyer representing the plaintiffs. Proper quality control and quality assurance during construction of dams is vital to the safe operation of dams. Negligent strip mining and heavy rain produced a raging flood. Dams need to be designed by a professional engineer who has adequate experience in the design of dams. (1) Kelley, J.H. The suit would have to break new ground, as it would attempt to address the psychological and communal losses that had been suffered in the disaster, rather than just property losses. 20 terms. Buffalo Creek Disaster Book Review “Oyez, oyez, oyez” The law comes to life like never before in The Buffalo Creek Disaster written by Gerald M. Stern. What is meant by the terms, "survivor s…. We had been able to assemble a group of renowned experts, including famous Harvard psychologists Erik Erikson and Robert Coles; Yale psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, known for his work on the "survivor syndrome" (the guilt that survivors of a disaster feel when they realize they have survived while their friends and neighbors have perished); Yale sociologist Kai Erikson; and a team of adult and child psychiatrists from the University of Cincinnati. and study the key litigation documents of the Buffalo Creek case to see how litigators use the . What were the first explanation of the disaster? 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