In an exclusive interview with More Perfect Union, a non-profit national news organization, Jack Casciato, partner at Clifford Law Offices, discusses revelations about Amazon’s liability in the devastating warehouse collapse in Edwardsville, IL.
Casciato filed a lawsuit against Amazon in January on behalf of the family of Austin McEwen, age 26, one of six workers who was killed when a tornado leveled the Amazon facility on December 10. Despite ample warning and repeated weather alerts as early as the day before, Amazon instructed its employees to continue working through the storm, leaving only moments for workers to seek shelter in inadequate areas. Employee accounts of the tornado, some of which are made public in the More Perfect Union story, express confusion and disorganization inside the facility, having lacked emergency plan training, evacuation drills or access to appropriate storm shelters.
In an exclusive interview with More Perfect Union that includes chilling 9-1-1 calls from workers inside the facility as the tornado was bearing down on them, Casciato expresses why a lawsuit was filed and the need for Amazon to have done more for its workers before the deadly tornado struck its ill-equipped facility.
Casciato explains how a structural safety specialist and structural engineer completed a government-mandated site inspection immediately following the collapse and found that support columns in the area where the warehouse collapsed were not appropriately anchored – some not anchored at all – into the foundation, a violation of international building code.
“There’s no excuse for support columns to not be properly anchored anywhere in the United States, anywhere in the world, but especially in Tornado Alley,” Casciato said of the area in downstate Illinois where tornadoes frequently occur.
The McEwen family is suing Amazon, as well as the construction, design, and engineering companies who were responsible for the architecture and development of the warehouse. The family expressed its hopes that this lawsuit brings justice to all the families who have been affected by this tragedy and its intent to hold Amazon accountable for its lack of proper care for its workers. The story explains that there are some 700 similar distribution or fulfillment centers around the country like the one that collapsed in downstate Illinois.
Jack Casciato will be interviewed by KMOV-TV News 4 (CBS) evening news in St. Louis on Monday, April 11, 2022, at 10 pm regarding this case.
Jack Casciato is an experienced personal injury attorney who has been with Clifford Law Offices since 2018. His years of experience as a truck accident defense attorney provide him with a wealth of knowledge as he advocates for individuals involved in tragic accidents against corporations and insurance companies. If you are in search of legal representation, contact us today to schedule a consultation of your case.