KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The widow of a miner killed while working at Immel Mine in Knox County is suing the mining company after saying members of upper management told crews to return to an area that was dangerous.
In July 2021, 68-year-old Gerald Turbyville was killed after a rock fell on him while he was in a Knox County mine performing scaling operations. Two other workers were injured, according to a previous preliminary report from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
The report said Turbyville had around 11 years of experience at the mine. There were 42 employees in the mine at the time of the accident, it said.
Turbyville's widow filed a lawsuit against the company, Nyrstar Tennessee Mines, on Monday. In it, she said that Turbyville and other members of the crew were originally told to leave the area of the mine by a foreman. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges that the ground was brittle and soft with several rock layers. They also said it was rich with ore.
The lawsuit said after crew members left the area, a member of upper management "specifically, deliberately, and intentionally" told them to return to the area and continue working, going against what the foreman said.
The lawsuit later says that since the upper management knew the area was dangerous due to the foreman's instructions for the crew to leave, then upper management "actually intended to harm, injure and/or kill those specific employees."
"At the time of his death, Gerald Turbyville was a strong, able-bodied and gainfully employed man," the lawsuit says. "He was an active and productive citizen who took great pride in his family and not only fully supported financially, but frequently aided, advised, and counseled with his wife."
The widow asked for a trial before a jury, and asked for the jury to determine an amount that covers the costs of funeral expenses, burial expenses, lost income, pre-death pain and suffering, mental anguish and the loss of the widow's "love and companionship."
According to a release from Nyrstar, the company cooperated with the Mine Safety and Health Administration throughout their investigative process with a determination to ensure the investigation would result in a thorough analysis of the incident and steps would be taken to ensure a similar accident would not occur. Concurrently with MSHA’s investigation, Nyrstar launched an internal review and shared those findings with MSHA.