For the parents of a miner killed in the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse, a ruling Wednesday that they are entitled to benefits in a "small way" acknowledges their son's effort to care for his family.
Administrative law judge Aurora Holley of the Utah Labor Commission on Wednesday ordered Genwal Resources Inc. and Rockwood Casualty Insurance Co. to pay full benefits to the parents of Juan Carlos Payan. Holley said evidence showed the couple and two younger sisters were supported financially by the single 22-year-old miner at the time of the 2007 disaster.
Isabel Villa is a homemaker, and Jose Luis Payan is disabled because of an eye injury and unable to work as a truck driver. They live in Ensenada, Mexico. Payan sent money to provide for them and cover school costs for his sisters.
The judge ordered that the couple be paid $565 per week for 312 weeks from their son's death in mid-2007.
"They are very, very pleased and feel like the right thing was done," said Alan Mortensen, a Salt Lake City attorney who represents the families of Payan and other victims. "In a small way it acknowledges to them what their son meant to them, and the fact it was acknowledged by the law judge helps."
Holley also ruled that each party is responsible for expenses related to additional deposition taken in the case, rejecting the Payans' motion to have their costs covered by Genwal and Rockwood.
Payan was one of six miners who died in Crandall Canyon when the mine's walls imploded on Aug. 6, 2007. Three rescuers were killed and six injured in a second collapse on Aug. 16.
Holley's order comes after a daylong hearing held last September. Genwal, a subsidiary of Murray Energy Co., and Rockwood had argued that Payan's parents were entitled to a reduced benefit because they received support from their other children.
But Mortensen said that evidence at the hearing showed "a lot" of Payan's income went to support his parents.
"They were frustrated that this thing was even disputed," he said.
Payan came to Utah when he was 16 and to join an older brother, who also is a miner. The younger Payan worked at the Coop mine, owned by the Kingston family, and then joined his brother at the Crandall Canyon mine in 2004.
Mortensen said he planned to meet with Isabel Villa and Jose Luis Payan, who are in Utah visiting their other children, on Sunday to explain more fully the judge's decision.
Kevin Anderson, an attorney for Murray Energy, said Thursday that Rockwood Casualty is handling the case and would make any decisions about an appeal. The company has 30 days to request a review by the Labor Commission's appeals board.
