4 families sue grain company in explosion death of employees

September 4, 2012 by Fred Hosier

Posted in: Fatality, fire/explosion, In this week's e-newsletter, Injuries, Latest News & Views, Lawsuits

A Kansas grain company faces a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the families of four men who were among six killed when a grain silo exploded in October 2011.

The explosion at the Bartlett Grain Co. facility in Atchison, KS, killed six men ages 20 to 43.

Two of the men killed were inspectors who were not employees of Bartlett. Their families have also obtained attorneys, but their cases will be handled separately.

Bartlett’s president, Bob Knief, is just one of several of the grain company’s employees named in the lawsuit.

The allegations in the lawsuit are similar to citations issued by OSHA in April against Bartlett. OSHA issued five willful and eight serious violations for a total of $406,000 in fines. The company is contesting the fines.

The lawsuit accuses Bartlett of willfully ignoring safety rules before the explosion.

In the wrongful death lawsuit, the families of the four victims allege:

workers weren’t properly trained to get rid of the combustible dust that led to the explosion, and
dust cleaning practices and electrical connections at the plant were unsafe and inadequate.

The explosion also seriously injured two other employees. It blew a two- to three-story structure called a head house off the top of a 125-foot grain elevator. Residents reported feeling and hearing the explosion four miles away. People in Missouri saw the fireball.

While there has been no criminal prosecution of the company or its executives, an OSHA spokesman said in April when there are fatalities along with willful violations, the agency’s solicitor may consider forwarding the case to the Justice Department for further action.

Family opposes memorial

Just weeks ago, Bartlett announced plans to create a memorial in Atchison for the six men who died in the blast. The plan has drawn strong criticism from one victim’s family.

“It would be our recommendation that Bartlett invest in an extensive safety program designed to prevent another tragedy,” wrote Zoe and Kevin Bock, the mother and stepfather of Chad Roberts, 20, the youngest worker to die in the explosion.

Do you think it would be better for Bartlett to dedicate additional spending in its safety program to the memories of the workers who died rather than to build a memorial? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The Safety Insights You Need
Get the latest safety news, trends, and insights - delivered weekly.

Join over 334,000 safety pros:

Privacy policy

Tags: Bartlett Grain, grain dust explosion, grain silo explosion, wrongful death lawsuit

Kevin Bock

Would I rather see a company spend a $406,000 fine on safety?
The answer is a resounding yes! I ask though, how does OSHA
punish a company without the fines? That being said, they wouldn’t
have been fined if they were proactive in their safety program in the
first place.

As a matter of the memorial, my wife and I will not visit a memorial
that overlooks Bartlett Grain’s “new” elevator in Atchison, Ks. To
design, discuss with the city, and then send a letter to the families
without involving those families, is nothing more then a PR ploy.

Our son will not be forgotten!

We are not saying that both can not happen. Out of respect for the
families, Bartlett Grain needed to address the families about this
proposal first. Work with the families!

Our original idea was to incorporate a memorial within Bartlett Grain’s
saftey program. That idea IS still on the table and more then anything
that IS what my wife and I would like to see happen. Doing that would
honor those 6 men more.
Guest

If they spend the necessary capital to improve their safety program, which I am guessing will be mandated by OSHA through a certification of abatement, I don’t see the issue with building a memorial as well. If they family wants their loved one forgotten, then so be it.

If you want to make the argument on a better way to spend money, then why fine the company over 400k? Wouldn’t you rather see the company spend that money on safety?
http://www.safetynewsalert.com Fred Hosier

Of course the company can do both: Create a memorial and spend more on safety.

But if the company spends, let’s say, $10,000 on the memorial, that is $10,000 that could have been spent on something else, including improved safety.

So, think of the question this way: If the company decides to spend $x amount of dollars on the memorial, would you rather it spend that money on safety?
Guest

“Do you think it would be better for Bartlett to dedicate additional spending in its safety program to the memories of the workers who died rather than to build a memorial?”

Is anyone at Bartlett saying that they are mutually exclusive?