Coal miners are federally mandated to have protective face masks available to them, if they choose to wear them. Without proper respiratory protection, they run the risk of myriad health issues, not least of which include pneumoconiosis or “black lung”. A small group of companies manufactured face masks approved for use in the mines. The masks needed to create an air-tight seal on the miners’ faces to function correctly. However, five models of masks had critical defects that let coal dust and toxic air seep in — and the manufacturers knew it. It was big business in Kentucky and West Virginia. The faulty masks, which did not entirely stop harmful particles, wreaked havoc in the industry. It resulted in thousands of coal miners contracting black lung, silicosis, and, in some cases, even death. In one case, a miner ended his career needing oxygen 24/7, devastating his wife and changing his life dramatically.
This miner worked in West Virginia’s coal mines for his entire career. He was told that the masks he wore worked properly and he felt safe and secure. However, health problems crept up on him, causing difficulty breathing. By the time he retired, this miner needed supplemental oxygen for the rest of his life.
Lawsuits against these face mask manufacturers had been going on for years, many to no avail. However, in 2020, Eastern Kentucky attorney Kyle Salyer, a partner at Morgan Collins, Yeast, and Salyer, looked hard at what was happening to the people in his area. He filed 1,400 cases on behalf of the injured miners against the mask manufacturers and distributors for developing, marketing, and selling the defective dust masks.
The mask companies were ready to fight lawsuits with 20-plus lawyers from eight states. That didn’t intimidate Kyle. He saw the struggles in his part of the country up close. Compensation for the coal workers’ health issues was needed — along with change.
Kyle knew it would take some heavy hitters to battle the big businesses he was squaring up against. He brought in an industrial hygiene expert, a radiologist to explain classifications of disease pathology, a warning expert, a pulmonologist who discussed the practical effects of the disease affecting miners, doctors who specialized in lung transplants, and mine engineers who explained the working environment. Despite the experts, the Defendants tried to muddy the water by changing the narrative with motions and alternative arguments. Kyle knew visual presentations were vital to show how poorly the masks worked, as well as the diseases they caused. He turned to DK Global.
Multiple members of DK Global’s team worked directly with Kyle and his experts to create an animation that he could use throughout litigation. Beginning with a 3D character model of the miner, the video showed each of the five defective mask models, how their defects allowed toxic particles to seep into the Plaintiffs’ lungs, and the diseases they led to. Finally, the presentation concluded with slides that outlined all of the ways the Defendants were negligent.
The animation demonstrated to the Defense that Kyle would do what it took and take his clients’ cases to trial if necessary. He meant business, and the manufacturers knew they were in trouble. At that point, they changed their tune and approached negotiations with sincere offers. Indeed, instead of negotiating one case at a time, Kyle settled hundreds of cases simultaneously. For one of these miners, who was on oxygen 24/7, though he’d live with health issues the rest of his life, there was some justice.
Kyle Salyer is a trial lawyer and partner at Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer in Eastern Kentucky. He was selected as a SuperLawyer for the last five years, Top 10 Attorney by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys and also was a National Trial Lawyers Association “Top 40 Under 40” in Kentucky. He specializes in helping people hurt by vehicle accidents, defective products, medical malpractice, slips and falls, and workplace accidents.
