Sometimes a plant owner will put off safety improvements in order to keep production up, but that puts workers at risk. When they get injured due to this neglect, they must pay. A man who was injured at a plant last year is suing in federal court in Texarkana for the severe burns he received. Texarkana Gazette reports.
The plaintiff had been expressing concern about a hot steam vent for months. When the plant finally decided to patch it, they told him and two other workers that the steam was isolated and that it was safe to work on it.
Instead, the plaintiff was exposed to 200 degree steam for nearly a minute. His coworkers had to help him walk 200 yards to the maintenance shop, flesh peeling off his body. He eventually had to be airlifted to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital burn unit.
The lawsuit claims that he was so disfigured by the accident his immediate family couldn’t recognize him. He was in a coma for 22 days and had third-degree burns on 45 percent of his body.
He and his wife have sued the packaging plant he worked at, seeking $15 million for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and loss of earnings. The Georgia-based company did not comment for the article.
Burns are among the worst kinds of injuries someone can receive, and the plaintiff alleges that he was told things were safe when they were not. We hope that the plaintiff and his family are able to receive justice.
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