ASSIGNMENT
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?
