Chicken Producer Pilgrim's Pride Cited By OSHA After Employee's Death

Guntersville, AL (WorkersCompensation.com)-  A work-related death at an Alabama chicken plan has netted Pilgrim’s Pride a proposed penalty of  $26,998. OSHA investigated after the injury in January that led to the worker’s death.

Thirty-five-year-old Gabriel Brutley died after falling from a lift that had been designed to move materials. On behalf of Brutley's children, a lawsuit had been filed alleging that a supervisor of the company had removed a safety device from the lift before the fatal work incident.  It states that it was the carelessness by Pilgrim's Pride that led to the accident that killed Gabriel.

After the death of the worker, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn), sent a letter to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Loren Sweatt urging an investigation into Pilgrim's Pride. 

In the letter obtained by Workerscompensation.com, DeLauro states, "This tragic fatality comes after several other troubling incidents in recent years, according to OSHA's own records. In 2016, the plant was cited for violating basic safety precautions after a worker suffered an amputation. Since July 2017, the plant has reported three severe injuries, none of which resulted in any OSHA plant inspection. And this past spring, the plant was cited for not following OSHA's process safety management standard for highly hazardous chemicals."

DeLauro ends the correspondence by saying, "I have concerns regarding the agency's commitment to investigating this matter, in light of the fact that OSHA currently has the fewest number of inspectors in recent history. All workers have a right to a safe workplace, and no worker should ever have to sacrifice their life for a paycheck. The agency must make sure that this fatality, and all worker fatalities, receives the resources and comprehensive attention it deserves."

The plant was investigated by the agency and was cited for two serious violations.  One was exposing workers to fall and crushed-by hazards and the other for not using caution signs to warn employees of potential dangers or to caution against unsafe practices. Inspectors discovered that there had been no safety device in place at the plant to prevent falls and that the lift had been used to lift loads that were way heavier than the permitted maximum.

Pilgrim's Pride is one of the biggest chicken producers in the United States. It processes over 34 million birds per week, and over 7 billion pounds of chicken yearly. The company supplies poultry to fast-food chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wendy's, in addition to grocers Publix and Wal-Mart.

The company has 15 days from when the citations were issued to respond to OSHA findings and either comply or dispute the fines.

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