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www.rockproducts.com ROCK products • May 2015 • 99 S ignal Peak Energy in Musselshell County, Mont., was found to have acted with "reckless disregard" when it failed to immediately report an accident where a miner sus- tained serious injuries. The Commission fined the operator $60,000 – the statutory maximum fine allowed under the Mine Act at the time the accident occurred on Dec. 23, 2009. The injured miner sustained a cut on his head, noticeably broken ribs, pain in his chest and back, difficulty breathing, a significant lump in his back, could not move, and told min- ers assisting him that he was not okay after being propelled about 80 ft. The shift foreman, who was also the shift EMT, said he found no obvious signs of concussion, internal bleeding or punc- tured lung, but admitted that he was unable to take or deter- mine pulse, blood pressure or oxygen levels. Although he was not able to obtain "vital signs," he deter- mined that the miner's injuries were not life threatening, and did not call MSHA. The shift foreman called the mine's safety director at home while the miner was being transported out of the mine. The safety director also made the decision not to call MSHA, believing the injuries were not "life threatening." Once the miner was assessed by the ambulance EMT, he was brought to Roundup Memorial Hospital, and then airlifted to another hospital in Billings, Mont. MSHA Steps In MSHA did not discover the accident until a reporter made an inquiry six days later, at which point the miner had to have a "left chest tube," followed by a right chest tube, and then a third surgery for a T-9 thoracotomy, fusion for a burst tho- racic vertebrae. His other injuries included fractures of the left scapula, ribs and sternal fractures. The Commission agreed with the Secretary that the reporting period clearly commenced when [the shift foreman] reached Stewart after the blast that threw him 50 to 80 ft. and "had a significant back protrusion," and there were concerns of internal inju- ries and spinal damage. The preamble to the final rule for §50.10 includes major upper body blunt force trauma in a list of types of injuries which pose a reasonable potential for death, and "a reason- able person should have recognized that an injury with a rea- sonable potential to cause death had occurred." While the section foreman said there were no obvious signs on concussion or internal injuries, the Commission said his initial evaluation was neither conclusive nor exhaustive. The very nature of the accident, as in this case, "is highly relevant in determining whether an injury is reportable." The Commissioners agreed with the Secretary that to permit an operator to wait for a medical or clinical opinion would frustrate the immediate reporting of near-fatal accidents. On the issue of who is to report an accident to MSHA, the Commission said that both the section foreman and the safe- ty director had a duty to report. "An operator may not designate one specific person, such as a safety manager, to place the immediate call to MSHA. Once a person with sufficient authority to call learns of an event injuring a miner, the clock begins to run on the period for evaluation of whether the injury presents a reasonable potential to cause death, and a determination of whether a call is required." The Commission also stressed that a decision to call cannot be made on the basis of a clinical or a "hypertechnical opin- ion" as to a miner's chance of survival. The decision to call MSHA must be made within a matter of minutes. Safety Director Delay It was noted in this case that the safety director, who came to the mine after the phone call from the foreman, waited 30 minutes in his car for the ambulance, and during that wait the safety manager had not gathered any substantive infor- 'Reckless Disregard' Finding Upheld for Failing to Report Injury By Ellen Smith