Nearly a year ago, a former Springfield police officer died while working at the Springfield Noble Sanitary Landfill. Now, his wife has filed a lawsuit against a dump truck manufacturer, the dealer selling the vehicles, and a repair service provider while claiming faulty equipment and maintenance resulted in the worker’s death.
Larry Flett, a solid waste operations associate, was driving an articulated dump truck at the landfill when it overturned and caught fire March 24, 2025. The lawsuit filed by his wife, Lori Flett, in Greene County Circuit Court on Tuesday, Jan. 27, states an autopsy revealed he died of smoke inhalation and thermal burns without having suffered any other potentially fatal injuries. The Fletts had been married for 43 years.
The lawsuit is brought against Caterpillar Inc., the designer and manufacturer of the dump truck Larry Flett was driving; Fabick Bros. Equipment Co., doing business as Fabick Cat, which markets and sells the equipment; and Pomp’s Tire Service, Inc. along with five of its employees who serviced the vehicle Lary Flett was driving the Friday before the accident.
Lawsuit points to defective design, improper service work
According to court documents, Pomp’s had a contract with the city to perform certain service work on the dump truck. On Friday, March 21, five Pomp’s employees changed and serviced all six of the vehicle’s tires, which for the Caterpillar 740 articulated dump truck required an “air sealing O-ring gasket.”…