Reflective Essay: The Buffalo Creek Disaster

After I had finished the reading of The Buffalo Creek Disaster, I was unable to calm my excitement down for a while. This is the kind of things that I probably will never encounter throughout my whole life, but I feel fortunate for having an opportunity to read the case. There are several impressions, reactions and comments that I have in terms of the buffalo creek disaster itself and the litigation process that is described throughout the book:
1. Taking about the initial reaction of Pittston after the disaster happened, they blamed for causing the dam breakdown in God’s action. Pittston did not even think about the impacted people and communities in the first place, instead, they were anxious to get rid of the potential liability, which was

He dedicated a large amount of time and efforts to try his best to help those victims of the Buffalo Creek disaster even though there was a chance they would lose the case in the end. He understood it was the right and ethical thing to do. He knew how those victims suffered not only physically but also mentally, which could have profound negative impacts on their future lives. Also, I believed Judge Hall took those victims into consideration while judging this case. He stopped Pittston’s attempts to stall the case several times and desired to bring the justice to the victims. Maybe he was affected by the personal experiences of those plaintiffs and showed some favour to their side, but he was not off the line and still performed just like what a reasonable and professional judge would perform. However, in terms of the ethical conduct of Pittston, I would say I was so unhappy with their indifference and apathy. They did not think about how their actions would affect those already aggrieved individuals. Those victims already lost some important things in their lives, Pittston’s coldness and their focus on getting rid of the responsibility and avoiding payables could hurt those people even deeper. In addition, I was surprised by the attitude of those media press. They did not cover up for Pittston; instead, they truthfully reported what Pittston did and how their conducts influenced the people and communities, which put a lot pressures on Pittston and eventually made they respond to the case more