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Katie Powers
Anita Quirk
BUS 201
May 30, 2017
The Buffalo Creek Disaster Win Was it enough?
Gerald Stern was satisfied with the 13.5 million dollar settlement as were the plaintiffs in the
Buffalo Creek case. After all, 13.5 million dollars is a lot of money and more than anyone thought could
get out of the lawsuit, including Sterns associates at Arnold & Porter. But, the question has to be asked.
Was it enough? The settlement money as a single dollar amount sounds like great a great victory, but
when you look at the thirteen-thousand dollar average that was rewarded to each person, it is not as
impressive (Epilogue 1). Thirteen-thousand dollars is not a sufficient settlement for the loss and
destruction the victims had to endure.
Over four-thousand people were left homeless the night of February 26, 1972 and over one-
thousand homes were completely destroyed (xiii). Those homes had all of the peoples possessions in
them; Furniture, appliances, electronics, food, clothing, a childs favorite blanket or stuffed animal,
countless pictures and memoir that cannot be replaced. There was no time to save anything but their
selves, and even that was an impossible feat for some. In order for insurance to cover a total loss of a
home due to a flood, the homeowners would need to have purchased flood insurance, if that was even
an option back then. There was not any documentation of insurance covering any of the destroyed
homes. The victims would need to rebuild their homes with their own money. Was thirteen thousand
dollars enough to replace a home? No, it was not. In addition, the cost of a home does not include all of
the items inside the homes that were also destroyed by the disaster. This would cost another few
thousand dollars to replace, even for a modest family. The federal government provided trailers for the
victims who lost their homes, but that did not replace their home. Larger families had to be split up into
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two trailers because they were not big enough for everyone. It was a temporary shelter that soon felt
like a concentration camp. The trailers were lie hot boxes in the summer and death traps when it rained
(48-49).
The book does not identify how many vehicles were lost in the flood, but it is safe to say all of
them in the Buffalo Creek hollow. If it is assumed that each home had one vehicle that would be over
one thousand vehicles that were lost in the flood and need to be replaced.
At least four communities were completely demolished from the flood, but sixteen in total were
impacted. It is one thing to lose your home due to a tragic accident, but to lose your community that
includes the local church, playground, stores, and neighbors is devastating, and a dollar amount cant be
put on that physical or mental damage. When the government provided trailers for the survivors, it was
not organized so that people from the same camps would be living in the same communities. One
survivor noted There isnt one family in our park that we were really close friends with, and so we feel
like were in a strange land even though its just a few miles up Buffalo Creek from where we were (48).
The majority of the loss, pain, and suffering the Buffalo Creek victims experienced was due to
their psychic impairment. I applaud Gerald Stern for his success to receive such a large settlement for
his plaintiffs for psychic impairment. Up until recently there had been too many winning cases when
mental trauma was involved. But imagine the torture and agony every victim must have felt during this
time. Every person who lost their home and had to witness their community washed out with the black
water suffered a great loss and experienced psychic impairment, and more than likely suffered for many
years or all of their life. The Buffalo Creek survivors did not need to be present at the time to suffer,
simply seeing everything they know and everything that was their home being wiped away was
horrendous. How does one put a price on that?
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The people who witnessed the destruction and survived were able to escape death but might
have had to watch their friend or family member perish in the water. Some survivors searched
frantically trying to find a lost loved one, hoping they would be found alive. Others were asked to look
at all the bodies in the morgue to find their lost family members. The Buffalo Creek victims would be
haunted with the events of that day forever.
What if the victim was Roland Staten? Roland tried everything in his power to attempt to save
his wife and his young son. The last words he ever heard from his wife was Take care of my baby.
Roland tried to save his son, but was not able to. He lost his family within minutes and is haunted with
constant nightmares of losing everything he loved and fear of the rains coming again to take his life
away this time (40,41).
One of Pittsons frequent arguments was the state law maximum for each deceased woman or
child was ten-thousand (18). The final settlement average for each victim was thirteen-thousand dollars
(271). A mere three-thousand more than what Pittson was stating their maximum payout would be.
The ten-thousand dollar maximum Pittson continued to push did not cover any psychic impairment
claims, which means the three-thousand dollars is for their pain and suffering. Gerald Stern and Arnold
& Porter should have held out for a larger settlement. Pittson was in a hurry to settle a definitely did
not want the case to go to trial. Arnold & Porter knew they had already won the case, and even though
Gerald Stern mentioned he did not want the victims to have to go through trial, but they could have
received a much larger settlement to help the survivors get back on their feet. Thirteen-thousand is not
enough to replace ones home, vehicle, household items, family, or suffering these victims had to live
with every day. Thirteen-thousand probably is not enough to solely rebuild a home to get out of the
trailers or hot boxes. One survivor, Doris Mullins, states The money can help us live an easier life,
free from some of our problems, but it can never put our minds completely at ease, because nothing but
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death can stop our minds from going back to that morning. Pug Mitchem, a leader in the Buffalo Creek
Citizens Committee, said it best What was here is gone and will never be again. (272).
Money does not replace pain, suffering, community, family, or friends, but as Doris Mullins
states, it helps. The plaintiffs should have received more than an average of thirteen-thousand dollars
to help rebuild their lives. Pittson should have paid more than 13.5 million to ensure this company
caused tragedy would never happen again.
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Works Cited
Stern, Gerald M. The Buffalo Creek Disaster. Second Vintage Books Edition, May 2008. Print
