Family files lawsuit against Sully Truck Wash

A lawsuit was filed by the family of a man who died while working at the Sully Truck Wash last January. The Sully Truck Wash and Brent Vander Molen are being sued by the family of Willie Mercer. The lawsuit includes negligence against the truck wash, gross negligence against Vander Molen and damages.

Mercer was one of three men found unconscious inside a tanker trailer Jan. 21, 2014. He died and two others were hospitalized when they were overcome by fumes.

“Willie’s death and the damage it has caused his family could have been prevented if Sully Truck Wash would have simply just followed the OSHA requirements. Instead they completely ignored the confined space requirements which resulted in Willie’s death,” Corey J. L. Walker, attorney for the family said.

The truck wash, 10683 Highway F62 E. in Sully, previously faced four serious violations from the Occupational Safety and Health Bureau (OSHA) for this incident including:
• Not evaluating the workplace to determine if any spaces were permit-required confined spaces

• Not informing exposed employees, by posting danger signs or by any other equally effective means of the existence and location of and the danger posed by the permit spaces.

• Not having the employer develop and implement a written permit space entry program that complied with code.

• Not developing, implementing and/or maintaining at the workplace a written hazard communication program which describes how the criteria specified in the code would be met, have material safety data sheet for each hazardous chemical which they used and no provide information and training as specified by code on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment and whenever a new hazard was introduced into the work area.

The truck wash paid a total penalty of $5,000 for the OSHA violations in April.

The family cited many of the OSHA violations in their lawsuit along with damages of pain and suffering, past medical expenses and funeral expenses, loss of value to his estate and loss of support of his children.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com.