The family of a worker at Quality Sausage Company filed a lawsuit saying the company failed to take action in response to a worker dying from COVID-19.
The Quality Sausage wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the family of Hugo Domiguez. His common law spouse, Blanca Esther Parra, brings forward the lawsuit on her behalf and Hugo’s children — minors BP and IP. Pablo Dominguez also brings forward the lawsuit, representing Hugo’s parents — Pablo Dominguez Dominguez and Guillermina Aguilar Acosta.
The family explains that before his death, Hugo Domiguez worked at a Quality Sausage factory, a factory that produces and packages meat products. They explain that at least part of his work was driving a forklift at the factory.
Allegedly, Hugo passed away from COVID-19 on April 25, 2020. According to the family, his death was the result of negligence on the part of his employer, which reportedly refused to take appropriate measures to protect its workers from the virus.
According to Dominguez’s family, the company was well aware of the risks associated with COVID-19.
Allegedly, the company then became aware on or around April 8, 2020, that people in the factory were sick with COVID-19.
The family says that Quality Sausage did not take the pandemic seriously, and kept the factory functioning normally. This meant that no protocols were implemented to protect the safety of employees.
Dominguez’s family asserts that the company did not provide him or other workers with training, personal protective equipment or other safety equipment that would help slow the spread of the virus and protect workers from contracting this.
The company also allegedly did not enforce social distancing, an effective preventive measure used to slow the spread of the virus through a community.
The Quality Sausage COVID-19 outbreak lawsuit states that because of the company’s failure to take the outbreak seriously, Dominguez contracted COVID-19. Because of this, he was allegedly forced to separate from his partner and his children to protect them.
The family says that during Dominquez’s work, it became evident that he was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
Nonetheless, he was told that he had to continue coming to work despite his symptoms. Allegedly, he was told that if he did not come to work, he would be laid off.
Dominguez continued to work until he physically was unable, explains his family, because he was “a man with a strong work ethic and deep commitment to his family.” The family explain that just a few days after he was unable to continue working, he passed away. He reportedly passed away at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.
The COVID-19 meat packaging plant lawsuit says that Dominguez was not the only worker at Quality Sausage Company to die from the coronavirus due to the unsafe work conditions — another worker died from the same illness after Dominguez.
It was only after the death of the second worker that the factory was closed, argues the family.
Dominguez’s loved ones assert that though the family shut down the factory to reevaluate its approach to handling COVID-19, they argue that this response was “a clear remedial measure” and was much delayed.
During the time that the factory was closed, Dallas County investigated the company, says the family.
The family argues that the company put profits ahead of the safety of employees, failing to take even basic measures to protect its workers.
In the family’s words, Dominguez’s death “could have been prevented, had the company spent a small segment of its $100 million profits to protect its underpaid and overworked employees.”
The family stresses that the negligence was no accident — the company knew of the hazardous conditions in the factory, but chose to not remedy them.
The Quality Sausage COVID-19 protocol lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $1,000,000 to compensate for the death of Dominguez, making allegations of proximate and direct negligence, as well as wrongful death.
Companies across multiple industries have faced criticism and litigation for their handling of the coronavirus.
As is the case for Dominguez’s family, other family members have said that negligence and a lack of appropriate safety measures led to the death of their loves ones.
The family of Hugo Dominguez is represented by Shayan Elahi of Elahi Law & Mediation Firm PLLC.
The Quality Sausage Company COVID-19 Wrongful Death Lawsuit is Blanca Esther Parra, et al. v. Quality Sausage Company LLC, Case No. DC-20-06406, in the District Court for the 44th Judicial District, Texas.
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