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Branham & Baker Coal Company Inc: 2 recorded fatalities operator

Controlled by Donn A Chickering
MSHA operator ID: P01832

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any Branham & Baker Coal Company Inc mine.

Fatalities
2
Total incidents
256
Mines on record
21
Years on record
1983–2001
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
354
citations
202
significant & substantial
$58,635
proposed penalties
$54,708
paid to date
93% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $3,927 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
155
inspections on record
2,871
inspection hours
12.3
citations per 100 inspection hours
ⓘ This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.
354 citations across 2,871 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
ⓘ Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$84K
proposed penalties
$70K
current assessed
$70K
paid to date
$0
outstanding
340 assessments are final orders; 10 contested dockets.
Of $27K in penalties contested before the Commission, $17K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2003-10-21.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
ⓘ Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.
59.2%
significant & substantial
0.6%
high negligence or reckless
60.0%
reasonably likely or greater
5.3%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.6% none, 13.2% low, 85.6% moderate, 0.6% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2001
ⓘ This rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.
7.19
total case rate
6.29
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
About average. The US coal mining average was 6.94 and the all-US-mining average was 5.26 cases per 100 workers.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2001 7.19 6.29 0.000
2000 8.12 6.49 0.000
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
Health sampling
ⓘ A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.

Respirable coal dust
ⓘ Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.

Last sampled: 2001-10-26, 24 years ago
97%
within 1.5 mg/m3
437
samples
4.43
dust max (mg/m3)
201 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 236 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR118
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR82
  • BLASTER/SHOOTER/SHOTFIRER65

Silica (quartz)

Last sampled: 2001-08-21, 25 years ago
9.8
silica avg (%)
37
samples
30.6
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
  • HIGHWALL DRILL OPERATOR9
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR8
  • BLASTER/SHOOTER/SHOTFIRER6
See US coal mines ranked by silica in their dust samples.

Noise
ⓘ The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.

Last sampled: 2001-10-17, 24 years ago
9%
over PEL
77
samples
Most-sampled occupations
  • BULLDOZER OPERATOR17
  • HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER17
  • REFUSE TRUCK DRIVER/BACKFILL TRUCK DRIVE10
See US mines ranked by noise samples over the legal limit.
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
When citations were contested
ⓘ Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
4 citations taken to the federal commission · 1% of citations on record
  • Settled 4 · 100%
100%
S&S designation survived the contest
ⓘ Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.
of 3 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
45%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$7K proposed, $4K after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2004-01-29. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
Contested penalties
ⓘ A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.
Largest penalties this operator contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
KENT20000231 Default Barbour 2000 $9K → $9K
KENT20020017 Settlement Weisberger 2004 $6K → $3K
KENT20000267 Dismissal 2003 $3K → $0
KENT20000058 Settlement Barbour 2000 $2K → $2K
KENT20010031 Dismissal 2003 $2K → $0
KENT20010245 Default Barbour 2001 $1K → $1K
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2001
18
2000
31
1999
33
1998
25 (1f)
1997
18
1996
18
1995
17
1994
12 (1f)
1993
16
1992
6
1991
9
1990
10
1989
5
1988
6
1987
7
1986
5
1985
9
1984
7
1983
4

Mines on record

Fatalities under this operator

2 recorded
October 5, 1998 KY · Coal drill operator Fatality · FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL
Branham & Baker Coal Company Inc · Caught in, under or between (Not Elsewhere Classified)

EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING HIGHWALL DRILL, WHEN MATERIAL FELL FROM HIGHWALL STRIKING CAB OF DRILL, FATALLY INJURING EMPLOYEE.

January 31, 1994 KY · Coal laborer, blacksmith, bull gang, parts runner, roustabout, pick-up man, pitman Fatality · FALLING/SLIDING/ROLLING MATERIALS
Branham & Baker Coal Company Inc · Struck by falling object

DECEASED WAS CUTTING A TREE,THE TREE SPLIT AND FELL AND HIT HIM IN THE HEAD.KILLING HIM INSTANTLY.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Branham & Baker Coal Company Inc stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate

MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.

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