A building collapse at an Omaha, Nebraska plant killed two workers and injured 17 more.
The collapse occurred at about 10 a.m. (CST) on January 20, 2014 at the International Nutrition plant in south Omaha, where the company produces animal feed supplements.
Rescuers rushed to the scene, but they had to move slowly and carefully to avoid inflicting further injury on those trapped as they worked their way through the wreckage. By about 2 p.m., all surviving victims had been extricated from the debris, and firefighters shifted from rescue to recovery mode. Two bodies still lay within the building.
It was late afternoon before firefighters were able to pull 53-year-old Keith Everett’s body from the debris. When night fell, the cold and dangerous conditions forced officials to suspend the operation before retrieving the last victim. The body of David Ball, 47, was retrieved from the wreckage the next afternoon.
Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are leading the investigation into the collapse, but they have warned that it is too early to say what caused it.
According to OSHA records, the company was fined $13,000 in 2002 for a fatal accident in which a worker fell into a mixer as he was cleaning it. In 2012, six safety violations were noted at the plant, including lax safeguards on some equipment.
In cases like this, victims’ families want answers. They want to know whether something should have been done to prevent the accident and whether the company or any individuals were negligent. The counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney is indispensable in sorting through the evidence and working with investigators to uncover the facts.
We Focus our Practice Exclusively on Wrongful Death and Critical Injury Cases – Contact a personal injury attorney at The Lietz Law Firm by calling 866-554-1238 or learn more by visiting http://www.lietzlaw.com/.
