A West Virginia jury last week ruled in favor of defendant Massey Energy Co. in a class action accusing the company of exposing plaintiffs from an elementary school to toxic coal dust. Dillon et al. v. Goals Coal Co. et al., No. 05-c-781 (Circuit Ct. Raleigh County, W.Va.).

The plaintiffs first filed suit in 2005, complaining about a coal silo near the Marsh Fork Elementary School in Raleigh County.  Coal dust allegedly drifted from the silo into the school, exposing the plaintiffs, and putting them at increased risk of lung disease.  The court eventually certified a class of about 300.

Plaintiffs sought a medical monitoring program to early detect the alleged effects of the exposure.  In order to sustain a claim for medical monitoring expenses under West Virginia law, the plaintiff must prove that (1) he or she has, relative to the general population, been significantly exposed; (2) to a proven hazardous substance; (3) through the tortious conduct of the defendant; (4) as a proximate result of the exposure, plaintiff has suffered an increased risk of contracting a serious latent disease; (5) the increased risk of disease makes it reasonably necessary for the plaintiff to undergo periodic diagnostic medical examinations different from what would be prescribed in the absence of the exposure; and (6) monitoring procedures exist that make the early detection of a disease possible.  See Bower v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 522 S.E.2d 424 (W. Va. 1999).

The defense challenged both the significant exposure and increased risk prongs. The jury rejected the medical monitoring claim after a 2 week trial.