Former employee Danny Coleman filed a complaint against Tyson Foods Inc. in the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday alleging that if he had been properly trained by the company on the machine he was assigned to use, he would not have been harmed by the machine. He asked the court for damages due to his pain, impairment, and medical expenses.
According to the complaint, Coleman was assigned to use a machine to cut chickens on March 19, 2019 while working at the Tyson location in Shelby County, Texas. The plaintiff said he had worked at Tyson for three years but had never been assigned to use this machine, or been trained to use the machine. After he was asked to use the machine, he was not given training or supervision and was unfamiliar with the machine. Reportedly, while Coleman was operating the machine his glove was “caught in the saw mechanism of the machine,” which caused his injury and the loss of three of his fingers.
The plaintiff claimed that Tyson should have trained and supervised the use of the machine, maintained the equipment, and provided safety equipment. Coleman claimed that Tyson, through its employees, is guilty of gross negligence. The complaint said “the Defendant’s conduct, when viewed objectively from Defendant’s standpoint at the time of the conduct, involved an extreme degree of risk, considering the probability and magnitude of the potential harm to others, and Defendant was actually, subjectively aware of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.”
The plaintiff asked the court for a jury trial and a judgment of over $75,000 to account for damages he allegedly sustained while working for Tyson, in addition to costs for the lawsuit and interest. Coleman claimed that he deserved damages because of physical pain, mental anguish, medical bills, and physical impairment, along with future costs for pain, anguish, bills, and impairment.
Coleman is represented by Badders Law Firm, PC.