Karen Russell, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of R. Scott Russell, Deceased v. United States

Plaintiff Karen Russell, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of R. Scott Russell, deceased, brought this action against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 2671-2680. The complaint alleged that employees of the Mine Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor were negligent in their inspections of a Utah coal mine and that this negligence was the proximate cause of the fall and subsequent death of R. Scott Russell, a mine employee. The amended complaint asserted that the United States owed a duty to R. Scott…