Police and rescue crew in Hall County, Georgia responded to an emergency on Thursday, January 28, at a poultry processing plant. When they got there, they were told that a line carrying liquid nitrogen had ruptured. The Georgia poultry plant nitrogen leak killed six and injured 11 other workers.
More than 130 employees were standing outside after evacuating the plant when rescue services arrived. When rescue personnel entered the plant, they were able to recover the bodies of five victims. All 5 had died, presumably from the nitrogen leak. The workers were made up of maintenance employees, supervisors and other members of management. The local firefighters were able to pull 11 other victims from the plant. All of them were sent to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Reports indicate that they have all been released as of the time of this article.
The plant was owned by Foundation Food Group. However, up until this month, the chicken processing plant was owned by a company called Prime Pak Foods. That company had a reputation with OSHA for having safety violations dating back to at least 2015. Even members of the local union indicated that this company, which was non-union, was known for having very lax safety standards and protocols.
In the last five years, Prime Pak Foods had been fined more than $140,000 for serious safety violations. Just last year, they were fined $3,750 for various infractions. In 2017, the company made the news when two employees had to have limbs amputated after a piece of equipment at the plant broke down.
The names of the victims killed in the Georgia poultry plant nitrogen leak haven’t been released. The officers did confirm that two of the victims who passed away were Mexican.
If you or your loved one are hurt at work or in some other accident, call a Georgia workers’ compensation lawyer right away. You may have a potential legal claim.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/us/foundation-food-group-liquid-nitrogen-plant.html
