Nevada is the nation’s leading gold-producing state and home to a significant silver, copper, and lithium mining industry. While most Nevada mining operations are in rural Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Nye, and White Pine Counties, the mining industry’s supply chain, equipment manufacturers, and service contractors are headquartered in and around Las Vegas, and Las Vegas attorneys regularly handle mining accident cases on behalf of injured Nevada miners and their families. Mining accidents — underground roof collapses, surface haul truck rollovers, conveyor system injuries, crushing by large mobile equipment, chemical exposure, and explosives accidents — generate among the most severe injury claims in Nevada industry. Marathon Law Group represents Nevada mining accident victims in third-party personal injury claims separate from and in addition to Nevada workers’ compensation.
Injured in Las Vegas? Call Marathon Law Group at (702) 522-1808 for a free consultation. Our personal injury attorneys work on contingency — you pay nothing unless we win your case.
MSHA vs. OSHA — Federal Mining Safety Standards
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) — not OSHA — regulates safety at metal and non-metal mines and coal mines under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq.). OSHA’s jurisdiction does not extend to active mine sites where MSHA has jurisdiction. MSHA regulations under 30 CFR Parts 56 and 57 (for surface and underground metal/non-metal mines respectively) cover: powered haulage equipment operation and maintenance; roof control and ground support in underground operations; electrical safety; explosives handling and blasting operations; personal protective equipment requirements; and pre-shift inspections. MSHA citations are issued after fatal and serious injury accidents, and MSHA investigation reports — including the narrative of the accident, citations issued, and operator violations found — are public records obtainable through MSHA’s website and are powerful evidence in Nevada civil litigation. An MSHA citation for a violation that contributed to the accident is evidence of the operator’s deviation from the federal safety standard and is admissible in Nevada civil proceedings as evidence of negligence.
Nevada Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Liability in Mining Accidents
Nevada workers’ compensation under NRS Chapter 616 provides exclusive remedy against the injured miner’s direct employer for on-the-job injuries. However, third-party personal injury claims against entities other than the direct employer are fully preserved under Nevada law and frequently provide the primary source of substantial recovery in serious mining accident cases. Common mining accident third-party defendants include: the manufacturer of mining equipment (haul trucks, loaders, drill rigs, conveyor systems, continuous miners) whose machine was defectively designed or manufactured — Nevada strict products liability under Restatement § 402A applies without regard to the direct employer’s negligence; maintenance and service contractors performing equipment repairs on site who are not the injured miner’s direct employer; blasting contractors whose improper blast design or detonation created the ground failure or flyrock that caused the injury; engineering and consulting firms who performed slope stability analysis or ground support design and whose work was deficient; and in some circumstances, the mining company itself if it retained safety oversight authority over contractor employees. Nevada’s comparative fault rules under NRS 41.141 allow all defendants to be apportioned a share of fault, and Nevada has no cap on economic or non-economic damages in third-party personal injury (as opposed to the medical malpractice cap under NRS 41A). For fatal mining accidents, wrongful death damages under NRS 41.085 are available to surviving spouses, children, and other heirs without a cap on non-economic damages in third-party claims. Marathon Law Group coordinates with MSHA investigators and mining engineering experts to build the complete liability picture in Nevada mining accident cases.
If you or a loved one has been injured, contact our experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorney at Marathon Law Group. We offer free consultations and only get paid when you win.
For more information about your legal options, visit our Nevada personal injury practice area page or contact us today for a free consultation. You should also be aware of the Nevada personal injury statute of limitations to protect your rights.