COVID-19 wrongful death suit against Pilgrim’s dismissed

TEXARKANA, TEXAS — A judge dismissed a wrongful death case against Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. without prejudice on March 6, relating to workers allegedly being exposed to COVID-19 at the processor’s Mt. Pleasant, Texas, facility.

The lawsuit was originally filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division, in April 2021 by Pilgrim’s employee Sybil Elijah and the husband of deceased Pilgrim’s employee Elnora Brown.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs claimed Pilgrim’s acted with “fraudulent misrepresentations, gross negligence, and incorrigible, willful and wanton disregard for worker safety.” They go on to say the working conditions at the Mt. Pleasant plant during the COVID-19 pandemic were spent in cramped spaces for long hours without proper protective equipment and safety measures.

The plaintiffs allege that, as a result, Elijah and Brown were infected with COVID-19 while working near an employee with the virus.

Elijah said she believes her husband, who was home bound due to a disability and an amputated leg, contracted COVID-19 due to her exposure at the workplace. A Titus County medical examiner confirmed that he died of COVID-19 on May 20, 2022.

According to the complaint, Brown was not instructed to wear a mask, facial shield or other precautions until late May or early June 2020. Brown died on June 16, 2020, from COVID-19, confirmed a Titus County medical examiner.

The plaintiffs sought compensation and relief for the deaths and alleged negligence of Pilgrim’s.

Pilgrim’s moved to dismiss the case, which the court granted due to lack of specificity. US District Judge Robert Schroeder III declared the time frame of the two-month contact period given in the suit to be insufficient.

The plaintiffs were given 21 days to amend their complaint.