Court: Mine-safety laws didn’t apply to subcontract worker

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Supreme Court has ruled that state mine-safety laws and regulations did not apply to a subcontract worker who died while installing a massive garage door on a mine-site building in Muhlenberg County.

David McCarty was killed when his stepladder collapsed and he fell, striking his head.

His widow filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the mine operator. She claimed the operator violated mine-safety laws and regulations.

Writing for the unanimous court, Justice Daniel Venters said the safety laws don’t require mine operators to provide a “special duty of care” for independent contractors and craftsmen who perform non-coal mining work on mine property.

Venters says that requiring mine operators to provide safety inspections for independent contractors would divert resources from the safety of miners.

The state’s high court released the opinion Thursday.

 

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