ATCHISON, Kan. — The families of four of the six workers killed last year in an explosion at an Atchison grain elevator have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the elevator owners claiming that the company disregarded workplace safety rules.
The lawsuit against the Bartlett Grain Co. was filed on Monday. It names former Bartlett vice president Bob Knief and other Bartlett employees as defendents.
Six men – Chad Roberts, 20, Ryan Federinko, 21, Curtis Field, 21, and John Burke, 24, Travis Keil, 34, and Darrek Klahr, 43 – were killed in the October 29th explosion, which was caused by the combustion of grain dust in the elevator. Keil and Klahr were not named in the lawsuit on Monday.
The lawsuit alleges that Bartlett officials issued orders that “displayed a knowing or voluntary disregard” for the safety of workers, and that the company’s procedures for cleaning up dust and the electrical system of the elevator were unsafe.
The allegations are similar to a report from the OSHA in April. The government has proposed over $400,000 in fines against the company, which has denied the allegations that any violations of safety regulations was willfull.
According to a report in the Kansas City Star, the move comes after the company announced plans to construct a memorial to the men killed in the blast – a move that the families of the victims say is just a public relations ploy.
Bartlett Grain Co. issued this statement:
August 28, 2012:
“Bartlett Grain Company today received a set of 13 citations and proposed penalties of $406,000, related to a terrible explosion at our grain elevator in Atchison, Kan. While all of the citations are flawed, none of the citations even assert a relationship to the cause of the accident, and indeed the cause cannot be determined. Some of the citations alleged “willful” misconduct by Bartlett Grain. We adamantly disagree with OSHA’s assertions, and we take extreme exception to the willful characterization. We certainly look forward to proving wrong OSHA’s unfortunate citations and characterization.
Here are two important examples: OSHA asserts that there was a hazardous accumulation of dust prior to the accident, however the evidence is clear and incontrovertible that the grain and dust found by OSHA after the incident was deposited by the accident, and could not have been there prior to the accident. OSHA also takes issues with the format of our preventative maintenance records even though that exact format was the result of OSHA guidance directly to the Company in the year 2000.
Bartlett Grain has cooperated fully with OSHA’s inspection. The safety of our employees always has been and continues to be our highest priority. We, of course, will work with OSHA to correct the citations. And with OSHA and on our own, we will continue to ensure that all of our equipment and procedures meet the highest safety standards.
The Accident of last October 29th, was the darkest day in Bartlett Grain’s 105 year history. We always will grieve that we cannot restore these men to their families and friends, or their co-workers at Bartlett. From that terrible day, we have believed and stated that we were operating responsibly. We believe that the facts have borne this out, and we are frustrated that OSHA has missed or ignored these facts. Again, we will work with OSHA to establish the truth.”
We stand by that statement and add the following:
“After considerable, on-going investigation and examination, we continue to believe that Bartlett employees acted reasonably and appropriately at all times. While we are just seeing the suit and its allegations, it appears to be based on nothing more or less than the OSHA citations, with which we take total exception and which we therefore, certainly have appealed.”
