Deliberate-intent repeal bill supporters say law hurts business growth; opponents say it kept their family afloat after tragedy - Charleston Gazette-Mail
Several supporters and opponents of a bill repealing “deliberate intent” in state law spoke in the West Virginia House of Delegates chamber during a public hearing Thursday morning.
House Bill 4394 would remove the means for West Virginia workers and their families to seek financial relief beyond workers compensation insurance in the event they’re injured or killed because of the negligence or indifference of their employers. State code defines companies’ negligence in these situations as deliberate intent. Its lead sponsor is Delegate John Paul Hott, R-Grant.
A mix of workers who were severely injured on the job, workers’ widows, business owners and attorneys on both sides of the issue spoke Thursday.
Jonathan Barber, of Beckley, was 29 years old when he was employed as an underground coal miner in April 2017. A mining machine malfunctioned and crushed him, breaking nearly every bone in his body and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He spoke against the bill Thursday, saying employees in previous shifts at the mine had alerted management to the problem but that the company neglected to fix it.
This was his family’s only tool to hold the company accountable, Barber said. At the same time, the payout from his lawsuit helped pay for a handicap-accessible home and covered additional medical costs that workers compensation coverage did not. Barber said it also helped put his family’s minds at ease.
“It’s real rough in this situation, because it’s hard to talk about,” Barber said. “It puts a lot of mental stress on my wife, too, because she had to quit her job to take care of me and my son.”
Shelly Rosser, of Logan County, asked lawmakers to vote against the bill. Her husband, Luches Rosser, died while operating a trolley in a mine where lights were not installed on the mine roof — which the company had known was an issue. She said that while in a rail car that the company did not train him how to operate, Luches Rosser’s head collided with a low, darkened portion of the wall, and separated from his body.
Rosser, who has four children, similarly said basic workers compensation benefits would not have filled in the pay gaps left after her husband’s death.
“Four years ago, we lost him because the company didn’t do what they were supposed to do,” Rosser said. “Workers compensation benefits alone wouldn’t have been enough.”
Ronnie Williams, a former sawmill worker, lost his arm due to a belt head issue his company had also known about. Williams told lawmakers his lawsuit covered the costs his insurance could not.
“I’ve got a wife and two children,” Williams said. “I really don’t know what we would have done without being able to file against the company. Workers comp didn’t pay enough.”
A sidebar to House Bill 4394’s debate Wednesday and Thursday has been the appearances of former Supreme Court justice Evan Jenkins, who resigned from the high court Feb. 4 to enter private practice. Jenkins spoke in support of the bill both days, saying the repeal of deliberate intent, which surrounding states do not have, would improve West Virginia’s business climate.
“This puts us on a level playing field,” Jenkins said. “That’s all this bill does.”
Jenkins said it breaks his heart to hear families’ stories of not being able to get by on just workers compensation payments but that this is a separate issue. This is an emotional yes vote, he told lawmakers, but it’s one they need to make.
John Crites, chief executive of Allegheny Wood Products, said the bill would help keep more of his business in the Mountain State. Based in Petersburg, in Grant County, Crites said he has 11 facilities in eight West Virginia counties but also locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia. Crites said his West Virginia businesses are less competitive because of the law.
Crites said his company is “continuously” in a deliberate-intent lawsuit, but his intentions Thursday were not for special favors. He said this would help the state’s timber industry grow.
Jenkins said before the committee Wednesday that he was there speaking on behalf of Allegheny Wood Products, which retained him as an attorney.
Joe Severino covers politics. He can be reached at 304-348-4814 or [email protected]. Follow @jj_severino on Twitter.
source: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/deliberate-intent-repeal-bill-supporters-say-law-hurts-business-growth-opponents-say-it-kept-their/article_292d8bac-2b12-500c-af89-2ca0eeab5f30.html
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