FedEx has issued a statement expressing condolences and stating that the recent death of an employee at the company’s World Hub was the result of a tragic accident, as the family hired a lawyer in anticipation of a civil lawsuit.
Verna Mae Jackson, 86, who died on Nov. 30, was a package handler at a central branch in Memphis, Tennessee.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends who are mourning their loved one. Safety is our highest priority, and we are investigating the circumstances of this accident,” the statement says, according to Action News 5.
Attorney Jeff Rosenblum and the woman’s family are awaiting the official report from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration about her death before taking any legal steps against FedEx.
According to the Memphis Police Department, on the night of her death, a driver was pulling a cart of mail but didn’t honk to let others know he was starting. Jackson rushed to get a loose envelope she noticed sticking out of the container. She was crushed under a 2,500-pound dolly.
Jackson was then taken to a local hospital, where she was declared dead. This incident marks the fifth in the last six years at the World Hub.
“Her family wants the community to know that she loved working for FedEx, and she loved the people that she worked with,” Jeffrey Rosenblum, the family’s attorney, said, according to LocalMemphis.com.
The hub is crucial for the company, as it manages freight for major airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
In February 2022, Jessica James, 33, lost her life at work during a late-night shift. Reports indicate that around 2 a.m., a forklift James was operating with load cargo pallets got stuck. James tried to dislodge it but couldn’t, so another forklift driver came to help. Unable to free the forklift, James got back in, put it in reverse, and fell out. Unfortunately, the forklift toppled over onto her because she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.
Her family filed a $3.5 million wrongful death lawsuit against FedEx this past Feburary.
While the company says that safety is very important, Rosenblum says that those on site did not implement safety precautions that could have saved the 86-year-old woman’s life.
“This was a completely preventable death,” he said.”There’s technology available that would allow the vehicle to make that sound, to warn, to alert that the vehicle is about to move before it moves an inch,” he said.
“And if we believe those precautions had been taken, if that equipment had been purchased or maybe it was there and not maintained appropriately, she wouldn’t be dead,” he added.
