The Buffalo Creek Disaster
Read Gerald Stern’s The Buffalo Creek Disaster: How the Survivors of One of the Worst Disasters in Coal-Mining History Brought Suit Against the Coal Company- And Won.
Write a short paper (approximately 5-7 pages) that addresses the following questions:
What does the book tell you about the potential for plaintiffs’ torts attorneys to work for social justice?
The Buffalo Creek case was pioneering in several respects. It was from studying the Buffalo Creek disaster that psychologists conceptualized and diagnosed “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” (PTSD), a diagnosis that was then utilized in treatment of Vietnam veterans and continues to be used with other military and civilian trauma victims. How did post-traumatic stress disorder factor into the outcome in the Buffalo Creek Disaster case?
