Iowa Supreme Court Ruling Holds Tyson Executives Legally Accountable for COVID-19 Deaths
In a significant legal development, the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that multiple executives at Tyson Foods, including Chairman John H. Tyson, may bear legal responsibility for the deaths of workers due to COVID-19. This ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the families of five Tyson employees in Iowa who died during the pandemic. The lawsuit alleges that supervisors misled workers about the dangers of the virus, with interpreters reportedly instructed to downplay the risks associated with COVID-19 in the workplace.
On May 23, the Iowa high court reversed a prior ruling that had blocked the families from suing Tyson executives directly, stating that there was sufficient evidence to potentially establish gross negligence claims against these individuals. Notably, the ruling opens the door for additional claims against lower-level supervisors and managers at Tyson’s facilities, particularly as the company’s Waterloo plant reported nearly 1,000 COVID-19 cases among its 3,000 employees in 2020.
The executives named in the lawsuit include:
- John H. Tyson, Chairman
- Noel W. White, Director and former CEO
- Dean Banks, Former President and CEO
- Stephen R. Stouffer, President of Tyson Fresh Meats
- Tom Brower, Senior VP of Health and Safety
- Doug White, Corporate Safety Manager
Tyson Foods had previously contended that they were immune from such lawsuits, arguing that adhering to President Trump’s executive order to keep food processing facilities operational shielded them from legal action. However, the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision marks a pivotal moment, not only allowing these individual lawsuits to proceed but also affecting approximately a dozen similar cases filed by families of other deceased Tyson employees in the state.
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