Storm Lake Times Pilot

Tyson plants ‘rife with coronavirus,’ petition says

Attorney promises lawsuits for 4 other families


The family of a former Fonda man who worked at the Storm Lake Tyson pork plant for 27 years and died of COVID-19 in the summer has sued the company for fostering a workplace “rife with coronavirus.”

 A three-count petition filed Friday in Buena Vista County District Court alleges that the company that operates pork and turkey plants in Storm Lake was the proximate cause of Mike Everhard’s death. The former Vietnam veteran and employee of Tyson plants in Storm Lake and Waterloo for the last 40 years died from “complications from coronavirus” at Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge on June 18, his obituary said.

Willis Hamilton, an attorney representing the family, told The Storm Lake Times the suit was filed in response to Tyson denying all avenues of relief for his client’s family. The company has denied liability for deaths in worker’s compensation proceedings.

“Tyson says you can’t collect on worker’s (compensation) or sue them directly when their workers die, and they went so far as to get the (Iowa) Legislature to excuse them from liability and ask the President (Donald Trump) to pass an executive order to keep these places open,” Hamilton said in an interview on Friday. “I’ll tell you that doesn’t mean they aren’t responsible in a court of law in the State of Iowa.”

The suit alleges Everhard and his fellow employees were not distanced more than six feet apart or shielded with PPE and physical barriers, flouting OSHA and IDPH guidance that advised companies to do so in March. It also claims the company didn’t make adequate preparations for workers over 65 years old or those who have preexisting conditions. Hamilton noted that Everhard and former employee Ken Jones of Alta were over 60 and had pre-existing medical conditions. Petitions on behalf of Jones and two other families are expected to be filed.

Tyson Spokeswoman Liz Croston declined to comment on the lawsuit specifically.

“We’re saddened by the loss of any Tyson team member and sympathize with their families,” she said in a statement in response to Hamilton’s petition. “Our top priority is the health and safety of our workers and we’ve implemented a host of protective measures at our facilities that meet or exceed CDC and OSHA guidance for preventing COVID-19.”

Hamilton’s suit is one of three lawsuits against the company for deaths that occurred as a result of operations at Tyson’s Storm Lake, Columbus Junction and Waterloo plants. They all rest their claims on the fact the company has resisted worker’s compensation to a decedent’s families.

“All bets are off if we can’t get worker’s compensation,” Hamilton said. “That’s the whole reason it was established in the 1930s. To keep these types of actions out of district court.”

Hamilton believes the Iowa Legislature’s bill, which was passed by both chambers a week before Everhard’s death, and Trump’s executive order mandating meatpacking plants stay open, won’t shield them in the eyes of a judge or jury in district court.

In the event the company attempts to move the case to federal court, Hamilton said he’s prepared for that possibility. He said all the plants that have been cited thus far all shut down at one point due to infection of their employees, which he claims, makes them in violation of the order. He also wondered why the company would choose such a move outside of one of its plant communities.

“The answer to all of this is that the company has a black eye here, there’s a strong undercurrent of resentment among plant communities,” he said. “And they have every reason to. People died so they could make money.”

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