West Elk Mine — Accidents

Total: 408 accidents | Fatalities: 2

Date Classification Injury Days Lost Narrative
11/03/2020 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None Weekly examiner heard the roof fall from 2 breaks away and went to investigate. Found fall SS1TG, E1, xc6-7 approx. 10'h x 18'w x 30'l approx. 2' above anchorage. This fall impeded travel but did not...
08/24/2020 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Hoist lost communication with AMS. Upon investigation, it was found to have tripped power and would not reset the hoist safety system. The safety system was reset and the hoist became operational at 4...
08/22/2020 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 23d lost, 9d restricted While recovering an I-beam, the beam came loose and struck the miner landing on right leg. The injury is soft tissue damage. X-rays were negative for broken bones.
07/02/2020 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None Poorly laminated shale roof, with slicken sides and coal riders throughout. Also, undermining of previously mined B-seam LW panels.
06/15/2020 POWERED HAULAGE DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 73d lost, 39d restricted Employee inadvertently walked between scoop bucket and rib and was struck when scoop moved.
05/07/2020 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A reportable roof fall was found in Sunset South 1 Headgate, entry 1, crosscut 22. The fall was approximately 25' long, 19' wide and 10' high.
04/15/2020 HANDLING OF MATERIALS PERM TOT OR PERM PRTL DISABLTY 2d lost, 5d restricted While roof bolting, employee reached underneath the drill steel that was still in the drill hole. The drill steel fell, striking EE's left index finger, resulting in a partial amputation.
10/18/2019 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None An unplanned Roof Fall occurring in SS1HG 19-20 XC #1E beltline
09/13/2019 DISORDERS (REPEATED TRAUMA) OCCUPATNAL ILLNESS NOT DEG 1-6 None Employee was determined to have a standard threshold shift based on audiogram.
09/11/2019 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None WHILE LIFTING PUMP, EMPLOYEE'S LEFT RING FINGER WAS PINCHED BETWEEN THE PUMP AND AN ADJACENT PUMP OR STORAGE TUB RESULTING IN A LACERATION.
09/06/2019 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Tripped while walking between two components. Fell forward and hit head on a truck, causing a laceration to EE's forehead.
08/13/2019 STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 10d restricted Employee stepped off of bolter to ground below rolling ankle on a piece of coal.
07/29/2019 FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 267d lost While moving roof bolter cable, the rib sluffed off striking the employee.
09/10/2018 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Escape way hoist in Shaft 1 was found to be inoperable at 3:11 a.m. A line filter had shorted out on the hoist safety system. The hoist was returned to service at 3:45 a.m.
05/30/2018 MACHINERY DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 257d lost Employee was hanging vent tube when they stepped onto stabilizer bar and another employee lowered the boom which resulted in a structural member contacting the top of the foot which resulted in disloc...
12/29/2017 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was attempting to remove a jackleg hammer from the back of a flatbed truck. The employee stood the hammer upright on the chuck bail. To remove the hammer, employee placed one hand under the b...
10/24/2017 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Upon daily hoist inspection, the hoist computer system was malfunctioning which prevented the operation of the hoist. It was determined that the battery backup caused the problem. The battery backup...
09/06/2017 FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 38d lost Employee was working on seal when rib section rolled out. Unable to avoid the rib and was struck in the lower back.
08/15/2017 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 8d lost Employee was installing a spot roof bolt. While drilling the hole, a piece of rock fell around the drill steel, striking the employee's forehead and causing a skull fracture and laceration
05/22/2017 POWERED HAULAGE DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 24d lost An employee was standing on a Ramcar, washing it off, when another employee started to move a nearby Ramcar in the opposite direction. The moving Ramcar caught the roof bolter cable hanging from bullh...
03/01/2017 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None During the weekly examination, a reportable roof fall was found in the established travelway. The fall occurred in F Seam, South Main Intakes, entry 2, crosscut 17. The fall is estimated to be 20' w...
01/17/2017 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 19d lost EE was operating shearer when a piece of coal fell into the bretby trough. EE stopped the shearer from tramming & removed the piece of coal. When returning the shearer, another piece of coal fell from...
11/19/2016 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was installing roof support cans, the single head axe that EE was using to tighten the wedges caught a string line as EE swung the axe which caused the axe to jerk sideways striking the emplo...
07/18/2016 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 29d lost Employee states EE was retrieving a water hose that was under a jack leg hammer. When the hose was moved, the hammer fell catching hand between the hammer and shield control unit.
06/29/2016 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None Piston seal on hoist brake caliper failed preventing brake from fully functioning, resulting in the hoist being down for more than 30 minutes.
05/05/2016 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A reportable roof fall was found in E East Mains, Entry 1, crosscut 12. The fall approximately 6.5' high, 50' long, and 18' wide.
03/20/2016 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A reportable roof fall was found by pre-shift examiner in E7 Headgate, entry 2, crosscut 31. The fall was approximately 20' long, 22' wide, and 9' high.
03/19/2016 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None During weekly examination, a reportable roof fall was found in E12 Rock Rooms, entry 10, crosscut 2 to 3. The fall was approximately 20' in length, 16' wide and 9' high.
01/28/2016 POWERED HAULAGE DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 1d lost While riding in the back of a mantrip on a road that had been excessively watered, the employee struck against the mantrip shell when EE's vehicle slid into another mantrip that was stopped in the ent...
12/08/2015 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None During the weekly examination, a reportable roof fall was found in F Seam Southwest Main Intakes in entry 3, XC-20. The fall was approximately 30' long, 15' wide and 7' high.
08/19/2015 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A reportable roof fall was found during the weekly examination in Sly Gulch Return, Entry 3, crosscut 10. The fall was approximately 45' long, 27' wide and 7' high.
06/11/2015 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 30d restricted After delivering concrete to mine, employee's foot slipped on the combined sand & concrete build-up that was around the pipe that the employee was pouring concrete into, causing him to fall. When fal...
03/26/2015 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was trying to pull a bent roof bolt back out of the roof. He hooked the roof bolt plate with the mast, the plate slipped and swung back, striking the employee on the lip.
03/10/2015 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While performing the daily hoist inspection, the power tripped due to a fault in the process logic system. The hoist was down approximately 83 minutes while the problem was diagnosed and the faulty p...
02/11/2015 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 9d lost As employee was lifting top frame of 84"" structure on to a pallet, he started to feel pain in his groin area.
02/09/2015 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None EMPLOYEE STATES HE WAS USING A PRY BAR TO UP-RIGHT AND ALIGN THE BALDERSON ATTACHMENT WITH THE FORKS ON A SCOOP. HE PRIED DOWN ON THE BAR, UP-RIGHTING THE ATTACHMENT. ONCE UP-RIGHTED, THE ATTACHMENT...
02/09/2015 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A reportable roof fall occurred in E South Mains, Entry 3 at crosscut 19. The fall was approximately 15 feet high, 25 feet wide and 25 feet long, damaging the high voltage power cable and nitrogen li...
01/30/2015 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None AMS operator discovered that Deer Creek hoist had lost operational power. Due to surface travel distance to the site, the hoist was inoperable for more than 30 minutes. When personnel arrived at the...
01/02/2015 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee states he and another employee were positioned in the cable basket removing de-energized high voltage cable. After removing a strap, the cable lodged between the angled support bolt and the...
12/22/2014 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 130d lost EMPLOYEE STATES HE WAS INVESTIGATING WHAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO PULL OUT A PLOW TRUCK THAT WAS STUCK IN THE SNOW. HE WAS WORKING HIS WAY DOWN THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE, HOLDING ON TO THE SIDES, WHEN BOTH...
12/02/2014 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 34d restricted Employee picked up a bottle of oxygen off the welder trailer, slipped and fell and hit his back against the hitch on the trailer.
10/26/2014 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None EMPLOYEE WAS INSTALLING A TRUSS BOLT. HE ATTEMPTED TO PULL A STUCK STEEL BY GRABBING THE BOTTOM OF THE DRILL STEEL. THE STEEL FELL, CAUSING HIM TO PINCH HIS LITTLE FINGER BETWEEN THE DRILL STEEL AND...
09/15/2014 DUST DISEASE OF LUNGS OCCUPATNAL ILLNESS NOT DEG 1-6 None ON 9/15/2014, EMPLOYEE STATED HE HAD RECEIVED NOTIFICATION FROM MSHA THAT HE WAS ELIGIBLE TO EXERCISE PART 90 MINER RIGHTS.
07/18/2014 POWERED HAULAGE DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 30d lost Driving a DF-54, when he hit a slick spot in the road causing the DF-54 to hit the rib.
03/31/2014 HOISTING ACCIDENT ONLY None While conducting the daily hoist inspection, the hoist safety supervisor system failed, resulting in the hoist being out of service for more than 30 minutes. The hoist was returned to service at appr...
02/06/2014 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None While traveling with an MSHA inspector on a weekly examination route, a reportable roof fall was found in F Seam, Southwest Main Intakes, entry 3, at crosscut 22. The fall was partially located in in...
02/06/2014 STEPPING OR KNEELING ON OBJECT DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 97d lost EMPLOYEE STATES AS HE WAS WALKING TO MANTRIP HE STEPPED ON AN UNKNOWN OBJECT, STRAINING HIS RIGHT KNEE WHICH RESULTED IN A TORN ACL / MCL.
01/08/2014 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A reportable roof fall was found in E East Mains, entry 3, crosscut 6. The roof fall was approximately 35' long, 21' wide, and 9.5' high.
12/05/2013 FALL OF ROOF OR BACK ACCIDENT ONLY None A roof fall occurred in inactive works that damaged an adjacent stopping in active works, resulting in impaired F-Seam ventilation. The fall occurred in F Seam, South Main Returns, entry 6, between c...
11/19/2013 ENTRAPMENT ACCIDENT ONLY None Operator was working to unbridge #26/27 feeders on R-5 Reclaim. He was working the south side of the feeders, pushing toward #24/25 feeders. He was backing up for another push, when he misjudged his...