Mom of 16-year-old killed at poultry plant sues over his ‘gruesome’ death, attorneys say
The mother of a 16-year-old who was killed while working at a Mississippi poultry processing plant is suing the facility over his “gruesome” death, her attorneys announced.
Duvan Robert Tomas Perez, a migrant from Guatemala, was cleaning a deboning machine at the Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC plant in Hattiesburg when he died on July 14, the lawsuit filed Feb. 1 said.
Perez was fatally pulled into the “still-energized” machine after he got caught in a rotating shaft and sprockets, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
A recent OSHA investigation found he died because Mar-Jac Poultry ignored safety standards, according to a Jan. 16 news release. OSHA has cited the poultry plant for 14 serious violations, and three “other-than-serious” violations in connection with his death.
Mar-Jac Poultry is also being investigated for potential child labor violations in relation to the deadly incident, according to officials.
No teens under 18, including Perez, should be allowed to work at a poultry plant where power-driven meat slicing machines are used, according to federal child labor rules. This type of work is considered too dangerous for minors.
Attorneys representing Perez’s mother, Edilma Perez Ramirez, have echoed federal officials in calling his death “preventable” in a news release.
Ramirez, of Forrest County, is suing Mar-Jac Poultry and staffing company Onin Staffing, LLC, accusing them of negligence.
According to federal officials, Onin Staffing employed Perez at the poultry plant as a contract worker.
McClatchy News contacted Mar-Jac Poultry and Onin Staffing for comment on Feb. 5 and didn’t receive immediate responses.
“What makes this case so outrageous is that another worker had been killed in an eerily similar fashion barely two years before, yet Mar-Jac did nothing to improve workers’ safety,” attorney Jim Reeves said in a statement. “Mar-Jac’s overall safety record is abysmal.”
In May 2021, an employee died after the sleeve of their shirt became stuck in a machine and pulled them into it at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant, according to OSHA.
“These working conditions have to change,” said attorney Seth Hunter, who is also representing Ramirez. “Chick-fil-A is one of Mar-Jac’s largest customers.”
He said Chick-fil-A and other companies “should insist on better working conditions or stop doing business with them.”
McClatchy News contacted Chick-fil-A for comment on Feb. 5 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
‘It is a tragedy that this young life was taken’
In September, the Department of Labor called on Mar-Jac Poultry employees to help the federal agency in the investigation into Perez’s death, McClatchy News previously reported.
A few days after he died, Mar-Jac Poultry said he “should not have been hired” because he was under 18, according to a July 19 news release published online by WDAM-TV.
The company said the employee’s age and identity “were misrepresented” on his hiring paperwork, according to the release.
Ramirez’s lawsuit faults both Mar-Jac Poultry and Onin Staffing for allowing her son to work at the poultry plant without being legally old enough.
In the U.S., child labor violations have been on the rise, with 955 cases uncovered in 2023, according to the Department of Labor. This is 14% more cases compared to 2022, and 88% more compared to 2019.
OSHA proposed that Mar-Jac Poultry pay $212,646 in penaltiesafter finding the workplace violations resulted in Perez’s death.
According to OSHA, Mar-Jac Poultry failed to take several safety measures, including how it didn’t make sure “energy control procedures were used to prevent the unexpected start-up of machines” during cleaning.
It’s unclear if Mar-Jac Poultry has paid the penalties proposed by OSHA. After receiving the citations, the company had 15 days to pay, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings of OSHA’s investigation.
“Mar-Jac Poultry is aware of how dangerous the machinery they use can be when safety standards are not in place to prevent serious injury and death,” OSHA regional administrator Kurt Petermeyer, who is based in Atlanta, said in a statement.
“The company’s inaction has directly led to this terrible tragedy, which has left so many to mourn this child’s preventable death,” Petermeyer said.
With her lawsuit, Ramirez seeks to recover damages for medical related expenses, Perez’s funeral and burial costs, the value of what Perez may have earned in the future if he hadn’t died and for pain and suffering due to the loss of him.
She demands a trial by jury.
In the news release, Ramirez’s attorneys said “immigrant workers are commonly employed in chicken processing plants, and are often exposed to unsafe, inhumane working conditions, at poverty wages.”
“Perez was hardworking and loved his family,” Hunter said. “One of the things he was most proud of was paying for his first car himself.”
“It is a tragedy that this young life was taken when his death was easily preventable,” he added.
16-year-old caught in machine dies at poultry plant, feds say. Investigation underway
15-year-olds were allowed to work fryer at Bojangles, feds say. Company will now pay
Dairy Queen child labor violations involve 23 minors in NJ, feds say. Franchisee fined
Unpaid 15-year-old Subway workers were threatened when they asked for wages, feds say
