The lawsuit contends that the facility had inadequate emergency plans, no basement shelter.
Alawsuit has been filed against U.S. tech company Amazon by the family of a delivery driver killed in December after a tornado hit its warehouse downstate, the family’s attorneys said.
Six people who had been working at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville died following the December 10 storm which left dozens dead across multiple states.
Among them was independent contractor Austin McEwen, 26, who, like other workers, was allegedly required to work under conditions management knew to be unsafe, a news release from the law firm retained by the family noted.
The lawsuit contends that the facility had inadequate emergency plans, no basement shelter, and Mr McEwen and others who died were told to shelter in a bathroom during the storm.
The suit was e-filed in Madison Circuit Court, though the courthouse was closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, an attorney for the family disclosed.
The lawsuit was expected to be the first filed against Amazon in connection with the deaths, according to Clifford Law Offices, the Chicago-based firm representing Mr McEwen’s family.
A spokeswoman for Amazon, Kelly Nantel disputed those claims in a statement, saying members of a local team “worked to move people to safety as quickly as possible.’’
The building was new and up to code, she said, and “local teams” were following weather conditions at the time of the storm.
“Severe weather watchers are common in this part of the country and, while precautions are taken, are not cause for most businesses to close down. We believe our team did the right thing as soon as a warning was issued, and they worked to move people to safety as quickly as possible,’’ she explained.
Amazon representatives previously stated its emergency response, including in the event of severe weather, was part of training for warehouse employees.
According to law enforcement officials in December, the other victims at the Amazon warehouse were Deandre Morrow, 28, and Etheria Hebb, 34, both of St. Louis; and Illinois residents Kevin Dickey, 62, of Carlyle; Clayton Lynn Cope, 29, of Alton; and Larry Virden, 46, of Collinsville.
(NAN)
