Safety Violations Lead to Employee’s Horrific Death in Pressure Cooker

 In 1906, American journalist Upton Sinclair exposed unsafe and inhumane working conditions in the Chicago meatpacking industry in the novel, The Jungle.  Yet, recent headlines show that, over 100 years later, many companies continue to sacrifice worker safety to protect corporate profits.  The 2012 tragedy at Bumble Bee Foods LLC, reported in the national news this week, is only the latest example.

In October 2012, Bumble Bee Foods employee Jose Melena, a 63-year old father of six, stepped into an industrial pressure cooker at a Bumble Bee plant located in Santa Fe Springs, CA to make a quick repair.  His fellow employees were unaware that he was inside when they closed the door and turned on the cooker, which topped temperatures of 270 degrees, and which ultimately led to his horrifying death.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office charged Bumble Bee Foods in April 2015 with three felony counts of an Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) violation causing death, and this week, the company agreed to a settlement which will require it to pay a total of $6 million – $1.5 million of which will be paid directly to Mr. Melena’s family.  It is the largest known payout for workplace safety violations involving a single victim in a California criminal prosecution.

The settlement requires Bumble Bee Foods to implement enhanced safety measures at its plants, including installing video cameras, providing additional safety training to its employees, and conducting ongoing safety audits of its equipment. “I hope it sends a message that safety rules are not a recommendation; they are a legal requirement,” said Hoon Chun, a prosecutor in the Consumer Protection Division of the LA County District Attorney’s Office, who added that “. . . shortcutting safety rules to make a few extra bucks and improve the bottom line is not a tolerable equation.”

If Bumble Bee Foods complies with the terms of its agreement with the district attorney’s office, the company will plead guilty in 18 months to a misdemeanor count of willful failure to implement and maintain an effective safety program. In addition, two employees responsible for safety at the Bumble Bee Foods plant have entered guilty pleas, and may also be eligible to have their felony convictions reduced to misdemeanors in 18 months, if they comply with the terms of their plea agreements.

Hopefully this widely-reported California case will be a powerful reminder to companies and responsible management of the importance of safety measures and employee safety training in all workplaces across the country – in the manufacturing industry and beyond.  Every employer has an obligation to ensure that its facilities and equipment meet safety standards, comply with safety regulations, and that its employees are adequately trained. As the Bumble Bee case sadly illustrates, this can be a matter of life and death. In Georgia, there were 70 fatal work injuries reported in 2013 alone (U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Release 14-1723-ATL, Nov. 1, 2014).

Employers in Georgia have obligations to the dependents of an employee who dies as a result of a work-related injury or illness, including the payment of medical expenses, burial costs, and continuing benefits. The obligation to pay such benefits, and the amount of such payments, known as “death benefits” under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act, are based on a number of factors, including:

• the type of industry involved,
• the amount of wages earned by the deceased worker,
• whether there is a surviving spouse,
• the number of children, their ages, and school enrollment,
• the date the injury was suffered or the disease was contracted, and
• the date of death.

It is important to hire a lawyer as soon as possible after a work-related tragedy or death to ensure that your loved one’s rights and the rights of his or her family are properly protected.  In addition to helping you navigate payment obligations and benefits, it is crucial for a knowledgeable lawyer to coordinate with appropriate federal and state agencies to ensure that the employer complies with all necessary investigatory matters and evidentiary requirements, and to make sure that you are not denied necessary information or even excluded from the process entirely by an employer looking to minimize damage and protect its bottom line.

The Poirier Law Firm has experience representing injured Georgia workers and the families of workers who have died as a result of work-related accidents. Presently we have a tragic death case where a 25 year old young man was found dead in a train car that he was cleaning. The family had no idea of the rights available to them through the Workers’ Compensation laws of Georgia. Our team is committed to fighting for workers’ rights with courage and compassion and to achieving the best possible medical and financial outcomes for each of our clients and their families.