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Miner Takes His Battle to West Virginia Supreme Court
by Kyle Lovern, excerpted from article in July 24, 2007, Boone Standard
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After working 27 years in the coal industry, Boone County native Harry "Butch" Sebok is in a battle with his former employer over a back injury he suffered while working at the Big Mountain No. 16 mine located in Prenter.
The 57-year-old Sebok, a U.S. Marine Corp and Vietnam veteran, is disheartened over the legal squabble (to get his worker’s comp) with Peabody Energy.
"I will speak my mind, and they won’t shut me up," Sebok said sternly. "A coal company acts to me like a spoiled brat. They always get their way. And when it goes against them, they really get upset.
"They can’t back me down or back me up," the resident of Seth said. "I’ve gotten this far with it. I intend to see it to the end."
Now his fight has gone all the way to the state
Supreme Court.
"There was never a report to MSHA," said Sebok. "We had to mail them proof that there had been an accident."
"The bottom line for a coal company is profit," said his wife, Patty Sebok, who has strongly stood by her husband. "They will spend a million dollars to keep from paying an injured man a dime. That’s just the way they are. Profit is their goal."
"…Coal companies like to hire public relations firms and to pay them a couple of million a year. They don’t want any accidents or violations reported that make them look bad," Sebok said. "They will stop anything negative that comes out about them," he added.
"…I spent 27 years in the coal mines," Sebok says. "As long as you’re working, it’s fine, but if you get hurt, you’re screwed."
…Patty Sebok said the last MRI her husband received shows that his back condition has worsened.
"I couldn’t go back to what I was doing," Sebok said. "I really miss the men I work with, but I know I could not go back and do what I did."
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