"Miners Injured at Lucky Friday Mine Sue Hecla", 16 December 2013

The operator of a 71-year-old northern Idaho silver mine that was beset by fatal and injury accidents two years ago has been hit by another lawsuit, this time filed by four miners who say managers dispatched them deep underground into unsafe working conditions while lying that the area was safe.

The Spokesman-Review reports Ronnel E. Barrett, Gregg Hammerberg, Eric J. Tester and Matthew Williams are seeking more than $1 million from Hecla Mining Co. for injuries, medical treatment and lost wages as a result of the accident at the Lucky Friday Mine in December 2011.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in 1st District Court in Idaho, also names the Lucky Friday Mine manager, superintendent and safety foreman. Hecla officials said they hadn’t seen the lawsuit and declined comment.

Hecla and its managers ignored increasing incidents of rock bursts and failed to take measures to protect workers at the underground silver mine in Mullan, Idaho, according to the lawsuit.

Earlier this year, Hecla also was sued by the family of a miner, Larry Marek, who was crushed to death by tons of rock during a tunnel collapse in April 2011...

According to this week’s lawsuit, managers failed to take measures to protect workers despite these warning signs...

Hecla, the nation’s largest primary silver producer, had its Lucky Friday Mine shuttered in early 2012 as safety concerns mounted...