Mar-Jac responds to wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hattiesburg teen's mother

Lici Beveridge, Hattiesburg American
·2 min read
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Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg denies any wrongdoing in the death of a 16-year-old teen, according to court documents filed Friday in Forrest County Circuit Court.

The company admits Duvan Perez was killed at the facility but denies any liability in connection with his death.

Perez's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February accusing the chicken processing plant and others of knowingly allowing the teen to work there and failing to protect his life by following safety procedures.

Federal child labor laws prohibit anyone younger than 18 from working in any meat-processing plant. In addition, the lawsuit claims Perez was not properly trained, nor were protocols followed when Perez became entangled in the equipment.

Perez, an indigenous Mayan from Guatemala, was killed July 14 while sanitizing the deboning area of the plant.

Wrongful death? Mar-Jac, others named in lawsuit filed by mother of 16-year-old killed in Hattiesburg

Duvan Perez
Duvan Perez

Mar-Jac, in its response, said it admits Perez died at the facility and was killed by the company's machinery, but denies all other allegations. The company said Perez's death was due to the teen's own negligence.

"Plaintiff’s damages were caused by persons or entities other than this Defendant," Mar-Jac's attorney Carr Allison wrote in the response. "The Plaintiff’s decedent’s negligence was the sole and/or proximate contributing cause ofPlaintiff’s injuries."

Mar-Jac in earlier stories denied knowing Perez was 16. Instead company officials claim they believed he was 32. They said the company uses Onin Staffing to provide employees. Onin also is named a defendant in the lawsuit but has not filed its response.

Mar-Jac claims Perez was employed by Onin, but Onin denies Perez worked for the staffing agency.

Even though Mar-Jac denies any responsibility for Perez's death, the Department of Labor's Occupational and Safety and Health Administration in January cited Mar-Jac for 14 serious violations and three others.

Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg, pictured here on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, is the site where a 16-year-old Mayan from Guatemala, who had moved to Hattiesburg with his family, was killed in a workplace accident on Friday, July 14, 2023.
Mar-Jac Poultry in Hattiesburg, pictured here on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, is the site where a 16-year-old Mayan from Guatemala, who had moved to Hattiesburg with his family, was killed in a workplace accident on Friday, July 14, 2023.

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In addition to illegally employing Perez, OSHA investigators found that safety procedures were not used to disconnect power to the machine where Perez had become entangled and a lockout/tagout device was not used to prevent the machine from unintentionally starting during the cleaning, despite having a supervisor overseeing operations in the area in and around the deboning machine.

"Mar-Jac Poultry is aware of how dangerous the machinery they use can be when safety standards are not in place to prevent serious injury and death," Kurt Petermeyer, OSHA regional administrator in Atlanta, said in an earlier story. "The company's inaction has directly led to this terrible tragedy, which has left so many to mourn this child's preventable death."

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Mar-Jac Hattiesburg responds to Duvan Perez wrongful death lawsuit