Bumble Bee Foods was ordered to pay $6 million for the death of an employee. It is considered to be the largest settlement for workplace safety violations involving one person, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
"I'm hoping people will ... realize shortcutting safety rules to make a few extra bucks and improve the bottom line is not a tolerable equation," said Deputy District Attorney Hoon Chun, according to LA Times.
In 2012, Bumble Bee employee Jose Melena died after being trapped inside one of the company's 35-foot long industrial pressure cookers used to sterilize canned goods. He went inside the pressure cooker for some repairs, but his co-workers, not realizing he was inside, closed it and turned it on.
Melena was cooked to death, and his body was found when the oven was opened two hours later.
"This is the worst circumstances of death I have ever, ever witnessed," Chun said. "I think any person would prefer to be - if they had to die some way - would prefer to be shot or stabbed than to be slowly cooked in an oven, " he added, CBS Los Angeles reports.
Bumble Bee Foods will pay $3 million to replace their old ovens with new ones that will not require their workers entry into the machines. It was also ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to Melena's family. In addition, it will give $750,000 to the district attorney's Environmental Enforcement Fund and will pay $750,000 more for penalties, various fees and court costs.
The court said the company has 18 months to comply to the settlement, after which it can plead guilty in failing to implement an effective work safety program.
Two employees from the company's Santa Fe Springs plant were also charged in the case: operations director Angel Rodriguez and former safety manager Saul Florez. Rodriguez is required to pay $11,400 and to fulfill 320 hours of community service. Florez is to pay $19,000 and ordered to complete 30 days of community service, CNN reports.
"Certainly, nothing will bring back our dad, and our mom will not have her husband back, but much can be done to ensure this terrible accident does not happen again," a member of Melana's family said, according to CBS Los Angeles.
"While this resolution will help bring closure with the district attorney's office, we will never forget the unfathomable loss of our colleague Jose Melena, and we are committed to ensuring that employee safety remains a top priority at all our facilities," Bumble Bee Foods said in a statement, according to LA Times.
