Bumble Bee Foods and two individuals have been charged with causing the 2012 death of an employee who was killed when trapped in an industrial oven at the seafood giant’s Santa Fe Springs, Calif., plant.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday charged Bumble Bee Foods LLC as well as former safety manager Saul Florez and Angel Rodriguez, the director of plant operations, with three felony counts of Occupational Safety & Health Administration violation causing death. The defendants will be arraigned on 27 May.
“We take worker safety very seriously,” District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement. “For the past year, prosecutors and investigators from my office have begun rolling out to major industrial incidents involving serious worker injuries and death. Our goal is to enhance the criminal prosecution of workplace safety violations.”
On Oct. 11, 2012, 62-year-old Jose Melena entered a 35-foot-long cylindrical oven used to sterilize cans of tuna for repairs. Prosecutors say coworkers were unaware that Melena was inside the oven when they loaded 12,000 pounds of tuna on carts, closed the front door and started the oven.
Melena, who had worked for the company for nearly six years, became trapped in the steam cooker, where the temperature rose to about 270 degrees F. A coworker discovered his severely burned remains.
If convicted as charged, Florez and Rodriguez face a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and/or a USD 250,000 (EUR 228,828) fine. Bumble Bee Foods, based in San Diego, faces a maximum fine of USD 1.5 million (EUR 1.37 million).
“We remain devastated by the loss of our colleague Jose Melena in the tragic accident that occurred at our Santa Fe Springs plant in October 2012,” the company said in a statement.
“Bumble Bee cooperated fully with Cal-OSHA in its post-accident investigation, which found no willful violations related to the accident. We disagree with and are disappointed by the charges filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. We are currently exploring all options with respect to those charges and will proceed in the manner that best serves the needs of the Melena family, our employees and the Company.
“Safety has always been and will always be a top priority at our facilities. Since the 2012 accident, we have made our safety program even more robust, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the safest possible workplace for our employees.”
