Murphy v. Eastern American Energy Corporation, et al., 224 W. Va. 95, 680 S.E.2d 110, (2009)
Jan 01, 2009OUTCOME: Case overturned on appeal to my client's benefit.
My client was working on a gas drilling rig and was instructed by a superior to bat down foam that had collected on the top of an adjacent reserve pool. Drilling companies use soap to lubricate the d ... rilling, which eventually ends up in a collection pool (called a reserve pit). While batting down the foam, my client slipped into the reserve pit and drown. I filed suit alleging wrongful death, along with other derivatives claims. The trial court dismissed the claim based upon a WV Supreme Court case that stated only direct heirs to a deceased may be the beneficiaries of a wrongful death claim. Because my client died without a child or wife, no person existed who could collect the proceeds of the wrongful death case. On appeal, the WV Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the trial court and found that the estate may collect the proceeds of a wrongful death case and distribute those proceeds to surviving beneficiaries.
