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Workers Sue Over Deadly Tennessee Factory Flooding
Impact Plastics and its CEO, Gerald O’Connor, are facing a lawsuit from the family of an employee killed in catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. The suit alleges that workers were forced to stay on despite warnings of dangerous conditions.
Johnny Peterson was among the employees who died when flooding hit Erwin, Tennessee, on September 27th. Survivors claim they were not allowed to leave in time. Managers only sent workers home when water flooded the parking lot and power was lost.
The lawsuit accuses Impact Plastics of prioritizing profit over safety. Eleven people were swept away by the raging waters, with two confirmed dead and four still missing.
Attorney Alex Little alleges that Impact Plastics lacked an emergency plan and ignored employee requests to leave.
The suit also claims that senior management left the building around 11:35 a.m., while employees believed they were dismissed. Peterson, who had stepped outside, returned to help trapped employees but became trapped himself. He texted his daughter at 1:17 p.m., “I love you allllll,” before the parking lot was submerged, toppling the building.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the state’s workplace safety office are investigating the incident. Impact Plastics has stated that it monitored weather conditions and dismissed employees when conditions worsened. However, O’Connor claims that employees were not forced to work and were evacuated before the flooding hit.