A contract worker who was injured in an accident at a Pilgrim’s Pride plant in Waco, Texas, has filed a lawsuit against the company.
The accident occurred on January 26, when a ceiling where they were working collapsed and three workers from Baker Refrigeration fell. One of those workers died, while the other two were injured and transported to the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest campus.
One of the surviving contract workers, Daniel Kendall, filed the lawsuit earlier this week in Waco’s 170th State District Court. Kendall’s wife, Lauren, is also a plaintiff in the suit. Defendants in the suit are Pilgrim’s Pride, project engineer Christopher Bentley and complex manager Kyle Martin.
According to the Waco Tribune, Kendall suffered a crushed pelvis and multiple fractures in the accident, which the lawsuit describes as “catastrophically injured.” Kendall seeks at least $1 million in the suit.
The lawsuit states that the accident was avoidable, and alleges that Bentley knew the area were they were working was not stable enough to support the workers, but Bentley failed to warn the Baker Refrigeration contractors. The suit further claims Martin was negligent by failing to act as a prudent complex manager and warning the workers of the potential dangers.
No Pilgrim’s Pride employees were injured in the accident, which happened around 7:25 that morning.
At the time, Pilgrim’s Pride spokesperson Nikki Richardson said that the company was conducting an internal investigation to understand what may have caused the accident.
Kendall is a resident of Arkansas. Baker Refrigeration, also based in Arkansas, states on its website that it specializes in industrial ammonia refrigeration. It lists several of the top poultry companies in the United States as clients, including Pilgrim’s Pride, Peco Foods, Simmons Foods and Foster Farms.
Pilgrim’s Pride is the second largest broiler producer in the United States.
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