RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in a lawsuit filed by the families of 78 men who died in a West Virginia mine disaster in 1968.
The families are asking the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate their 2014 lawsuit. The court will hear the case Wednesday.
A federal judge ruled last year that the lawsuit was filed too late. But the families argue that the case should be allowed to move forward because they claim the mining company concealed the cause of the explosion for decades.
In this Nov. 24, 1968, file photo, one of two seven-man rescue teams enters the Consolidation Coal mines in Farmington, W.Va., where 78 miners have been trapped. It’s been nearly half a century since 78 men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (AP Photo/File)
The mining company is asking the court to uphold the judge’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit.
As a result of the disaster, Congress passed the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, which increased federal mine inspections and toughened safety standards.
FILE – In this Nov. 24, 1968, file photo, the second of two seven-man teams exits the Athas portal mine shaft of the Consolidated Coal Co., near Farmington, W.Va., after their search for 78 trapped miners. It’s been nearly half a century since 78 men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (AP Photo/File)
FILE – In this Nov. 20, 1968, file photo, three miners are lifted by a bucket from the burning Mountaineer Coal Co. No. 9 mine near Farmington, W.Va. It’s been nearly half a century since 78 men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (AP Photo/File)
FILE – In this Nov. 21, 1968, file photo, smoke pours from the burning Llewellyn portal of the Mountaineer Coal Co., where 78 miners are trapped near Farmington, W.Va. It’s been nearly half a century since then men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (AP Photo/File)
In this Tuesday March 6, 2018 photo, Harrison County Judge James A Matish presides over court at the Harrison County Courthouse in Clarksburg, W.Va. Matish’s father was one of 78 men who perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia in 1968. Families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (Matt Harvey/The Exponent via AP)
FILE – In this Nov. 20, 1968, file photo, a helicopter hovers over the burning Llewellyn portal to the Mountaineer Coal Co. No. 9 mine near Farmington, W.Va. It’s been nearly half a century since 78 men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP, File)
FILE – In this Nov. 20, 1968, file photo, three women sit together in a small store near the Mountaineer Coal Co. No. 9 mine near Farmington, W.Va., as they wait for word on the fate of the miners trapped underground by explosions and fire. It’s been nearly half a century since 78 men perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia, but to those who lost loved ones, the questions have never been answered. This week, families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (AP Photo/File)
In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, Harrison County Judge James A. Matish presides over court at the Harrison County Courthouse in Clarksburg, W.Va. Matish’s father was one of 78 men who perished in the Farmington No. 9 mine disaster in West Virginia in 1968. Families of the lost miners will ask a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit they filed in 2014. (Matt Harvey/The Exponent via AP)
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