Federal Judge's Ruling Opens Tyson Foods To Liability For Punitive Damages In Injured Worker Case

Our client, Janice D., worked at the Tyson plant until an unrelated vehicle accident caused her to lose her mode of transportation. She did not receive any injuries during this short stint, though she worried she was improperly trained. 

She returned to Tyson in 2018 and alleges she "was forced to endure intolerable working conditions" such as standing for eight hours at a time on woefully insufficient mats that were "too thin, constantly wet, and rarely replaced" and provided little to no protection from the hard concrete floors. Janice also noticed that more experienced employees were required to do more than other team members. Our client's injuries were a direct result of a lack of training, assistance, and proper equipment. 

We filed a suit on behalf of our client, and the summary judgment has come in. The resulting judgment is a precedent-setting order that implicates the way Tyson Foods forces its employees to work. Tyson was denied, including on punitive damages.

In the course of the case, Tyson argued that“[a] finding of no duty to assist is appropriate especially where there is no evidence that additional equipment or assistance were needed to perform the job safely.” However, this is disputed by another report that states, “Documents concerning ergonomics and injuries in the poultry industry and from Tyson Foods also describe effective interventions to prevent or minimize the probability of these injuries to workers in the poultry industry: Interventions were not in place in the Tyson Foods Carthage TX poultry plant where Ms. Dean worked.”

Read the full Summary Judgement here.

Justice For Our Clients

VB Attorneys fought for our client, and we are proud of the outcome. This landmark summary judgment should lead to changes in an industry that desperately needs it. 

We have a track record for leading the charge and fighting against large companies that seek to silence their employees. If you have questions or are in a similar position, please contact us or call us at (877) 724-7800.