Editor:

Hats off to Dustin Bleizeffer and the Casper Star-Tribune for reporting on the issues related to the pitfalls our working men and women and their families encounter when they are injured or killed in our oil and gas fields.

When these tragic and preventable injuries and deaths occur, our workers and their families expect their wages, medical care, physical and death losses to be covered by the State's Worker Compensation and Safety Department and our civil justice system.

This reporting has shed light on the reasons these systems frequently fail to provide the necessary relief to Wyoming citizens in their time of need.

A Wyoming family receives only $10,000 for the death of their loved one if the deceased worker is unmarried and has no dependent children or parents. Given the law developed in our Supreme Court, the worker's family is rarely given the chance to be heard in court when seeking justice for the wrongful death of their loved one.

For those workers who suffer devastating life long injuries, the results are no more fair or just. Two of the men interviewed by the reporter exemplified the urgent need for reform. A worker suffering a 30 percent disability received only $18,000 from our state workers compensation fund.

Another worker who suffered electrocution resulting in a 50 percent disability received a mere $25,000 from our state fund. Under current Wyoming Supreme Court case law, neither worker had a chance of recovering from the oil companies responsible for their injuries.

By contrast, when a worker is injured or killed on Wind River Reservation lands under the jurisdiction of the Shoshone and Arapaho Indian Tribes, the injured worker or the decedent's family will receive their day in court. The statutes and case law of Wyoming as they existed 20 years ago remain in place on the Wind River Reservation.

This permits injured workers and the survivors of deceased workers, regardless of their race, access to the Tribal Court. It also allows the state of Wyoming to recover the lien for the wage and medical benefits paid to the injured workers and their families.

A Labor, Health and Social Services Committee meeting will be held June 2 in Casper at the University of Wyoming Outreach Center, 951 N. Poplar in Casper, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

JOHN VINCENT, Riverton