Tyson Foods Litigation

Sadly, controversies involving Tyson Foods Inc. has become something of a norm. For more than 15 years now, Tyson Foods has had over 90 lawsuits filed against them. Several allegations and claims have been made by individuals-employees and non-profit organizations as a whole.

Most recently, Tyson Foods is facing litigation for failure to provide adequate PPE and a federal wrongful death lawsuit. The American Food Corporation has denied this allegation and seeks to debunk them in court. 

In these trying times, while many of us are adhering to the shelter-in-place orders; others are heading to work courageously, to keep important sectors of the economy running. These workers deserve more safety measures than usual to protect them and their families at large. 

Your company is legally required to protect you. If you or a loved one has taken ill, sustained a personal injury or died while working on a Tyson Foods operation, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact a qualified Tyson Foods Lawsuit Lawyer.

At Oshan and Associates, our Tyson Foods Lawsuit Lawyers are passionate about representing you. We have a depth of knowledge and experience we are willing to utilize for your case. If you have been a victim of a work-related injury on a Tyson Foods plant, please contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Tyson Foods Lawsuit Lawyers.

Tyson Foods Sued for federal wrongful death

The American meat processing corporation, Tyson Foods Inc, is being sued for failure to provide adequate PPE and a federal wrongful death. 

Several state governments have instituted shelter-in-place orders as the World Health Organization advised. But then, to keep import aspects like the food industry working, many have had to continue working. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has released guidelines for workers in the meat and poultry industry to reduce their risk of exposure to the coronavirus. 

Among other requirements, the CDC suggests the following for meat and poultry processing plants.

• Ensure that workers have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Designate workers to monitor and facilitate distancing practices
• Avoid having workers work directly from each other on the line.
• Provide protective barriers if workers doo work across from each other
• Make sure employees sanitize their hands regularly
• Keep employees at least 6-feet apart.

The CDC states that defying any of the following will place these workers at risk. If that happens, the families, community and state in general would be at risk. 

Failure to provide Adequate PPE – Covid-19 outbreak

Towards the ending of March, 2020, several experts have expressed growing concern that the workers at meat processing plants were at greater risk of contracting the virus. Thus, leading to a feared wide-spread of severe Covid-19 outbreaks. 

This is because they observed that workers were unable to take time off. Food processing giants like Tyson Foods, does not provide paid sick leave. Several other allegations also state that employees at Tyson Food plants work under unfavorable conditions.

Although, Tyson Foods has made efforts to ensure that their workers are protected. They announced world wide temperature checks for all their employees, to screen them for signs of the virus. Tyson Foods even made a statement to ProPublica on March 27th, that “a limited number of team members” had tested positive for the disease. 

By April 22, the Tyson Foods meat processing plant in Logansport, Indiana was shut down because out of 2,200 plant workers, almost 900 of them had tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The corporation was forced to shut down because 40% of its team members had contracted Covid-19. In spite of the safety measures that were said to be in place, Tyson Foods still had an overwhelming number of cases. Which likely connotes that Tyson Foods did not take the global pandemic as seriously as they led the public to believe. 

We can only speculate due to other Tyson plants Covid-19 outbreaks. Of course, it does not suggest any form of negligence on the part of the meat processing corporation.

In Black Hawk County, Iowa, over 40% of the Tyson Foods operation employees have tested positive for the coronavirus. The operation has about 2,700 employees which means that Tyson Foods contributed over 1,100 cases to the county’s total of 1,346 cases of coronavirus.

Tyson Foods’ Federal Wrongful Death Suit

In Amarillo, Texas, a Tyson Foods employee died of the novel virus Covid-19. A lawsuit has been filed against the meat processing giant, accusing the corporation of causing the death. 

The suit was filed in federal court on May 15th, 2020, on behalf of Pwar Gay, an employee of Tyson Foods who died of the coronavirus. 

The suit alleges that Gay had been a victim of a slip and fall accident at the plant, in which her knees were injured. She was treated at the plant’s first-aid center and returned to work. “Mrs. Gay was suffering from pain and swelling, but was not allowed to go home and rest or seek medical attention due to Tyson Foods’ shortage in staff”, the suit alleges. The plaintiff contacted Covid-19 and died from it on the 8th of May. 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the surviving husband and four children of the deceased, alleges that numerous workers have been infected with the coronavirus at the Tyson Foods’ plant in Amarillo. They allege that at least 4,500 Tyson employees have contracted Covid-19 and at least 18 have died.

Tyson Foods have responded saying “we ae saddened by the loss of any Tyson team member and sympathize with Mrs. Gay’s family at this difficult time. At Tyson Foods, our top priority is the health and safety of our team members, and we have put in place a host of protective steps at our facilities that meet or exceed CDC and OSHA guidance for preventing Covid-19”

It would be incredibly heartbreaking if any of the above allegations comes out true. If you or a loved one has experienced any form of personal injury or taken ill while working on a Tyson Foods Plant, please reach out to us, we want to help.

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