Lawsuits against Boyd to go forward in workers’ deaths
June 8, 2013 - 11:42 pm
Boyd Gaming Corp. on Friday lost an attempt to end lawsuits brought by survivors of two employees who died on the job at The Orleans six years ago.
Attorneys for the Las Vegas-based casino company and two of its managers argued that the families of Travis Koehler and Richard Luzier already had accepted workers’ compensation benefits and never appealed them.
As a result, they said, Nevada law precludes them from filing the case for damages unless they could show the company had intentionally tried to injure them, something the Boyd attorneys say was not the case.
But Clark County District Judge Gloria Sturman denied the motion for summary judgment, a frequent tactic in civil cases where one side tries to win based on undisputed facts and the law leaning in its favor.
“This is a certainly a compelling case, and the facts are egregious,” she said. In addition, she noted, “This case raises all kinds of public policy issues.”
In February 2007, a clogged pipe at The Orleans caused sewage to flow into a grease trap, sending out noxious fumes.
Richard Luzier, a 48-year-old veteran plumber, crawled into the manhole to cut a plastic pipe to relieve the clog. Instead, he was overcome by the gusher of sewage and fell to the bottom of the pit, where he died.
Travis Koehler, 26, died attempting to rescue Luzier, while a third employee, David Snow, whose age was unavailable, barely survived as he tried to save the other two.
Later that year, Boyd paid a $185,000 fine and revamped its safety program following an investigation by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In what was likely a preview of the potential jury trial scheduled for Sept. 9, attorney George Bochanis portrayed a company indifferent to basic safety.
Bochanis, representing Robert Koehler Jr. and Debra Koehler-Fergen, Travis Koehler’s parents, quoted testimony from Don Barker, a former Boyd environmental health and safety manager, that the company was “not interested in safety programs unless it was something that didn’t cost money or was very superficial.”
Following the hearing, Boyd attorneys said Barker had been given ample money to attend training sessions and implement programs.
But according to Bochanis, after this plumbing malfunction, Boyd did not call in an outside company it had used previously in similar situations that had equipment such as hazardous materials protective clothing, breathing equipment and harnesses.
Further, Sturman rejected Boyd’s argument that a company’s intent to inflict injury could come only from top officers and directors, not on-site managers.
Contact reporter Tim O’Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.