Family Blames Electric Coop For Man's Death

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

SKIATOOK, OK -- The family of a Verdigris Valley lineman killed three months ago says the company is to blame.  And, they've got the documents to prove it.  They say for months their search for answers were ignored, so they went to the federal government for help.

Misty Tiger still gets to play with her kids, except one part is missing.

"It's that there's a part of me, and now it's gone forever," said Misty Tiger.

Her husband Jason was shocked to death three months ago.  He was installing a power generator for Verdigris Electric.  But, his family says he was too inexperienced for that job.  That's because Jason was not a licensed electrician.

"Jason did not have the training.  He should never have even been on the job," said his father-in-law Roger Britton.

Misty says they've been stonewalled by the company in their search for answers.

"They took away my sole provider, my husband, my kids' dad.   My everything.   And, they're still not giving me answers.  I want someone to come and give me the paperwork and show me what happened and explain it to me," said Misty Tiger.

A Verdigris Valley spokesman told The News On 6 that the company paid Jason's life insurance policy and that they're cooperating on a worker's compensation settlement.  They declined an on-camera interview, but they say they've done their due diligence.

Tiger's father-in-law doesn't buy it.

"They robbed that boy, and my family, my children, my grandchildren of that life," said Roger Britton.

And so, Britton went out on his own to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  Their investigation wrapped up last week and it confirms what the family has suspected.

Verdigris Valley did not ensure appropriate procedures were communicated or provide protection from electrical hazards.

"It's just really hard.  It's hard whenever my two year old looks at me and says where's daddy? And, I can't explain it to her," said Misty Tiger.

Now, they say the tragedy will repeat itself.

"It could happen to any one of those guys. Any day.  At any minute," said Roger Britton.

"It's really hard to wake up and think that he's there, and he's not there," said Misty Tiger.

All Misty has now are thousands of photos.  They are snapshots of a husband and father taken too soon.

A few years ago Oklahoma state law was changed, so electric cooperatives can be run independently of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, if they set up a regulatory agency.

Tiger's family says Verdigris Valley isn't turning over documents because it would prove that agency isn't doing its job.

Related Story:

06/05/2008    Man Electrocuted On The Job