Criminally Negligent Nitrogen Exposure Deaths
A Cal/OSHA inquiry of two California Ranch Foods worker deaths in 2020 found exposure to a hazardous release of fatal nitrogen gas the cause. In settling the LA District Attorney’s ensuing criminal charges for lax training and safety procedures, the company must:
- Serve three years’ probation
- Pay a $1 million criminal fine
- Acknowledge a $35 million civil settlement with the victims’ families
- Spend $1.6 million on plant safety improvements
- Pay Cal/OSHA $50,000 to support enforcement efforts
- Donate $4 million to local food banks
Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee stated: “When employers fail to protect their workers and it results in a preventable death; California will hold them accountable. We will continue to use every tool available, including criminal referrals to ensure justice is served, and that safety is never optional.”
The agency also announced beefing up of investigative personnel as well as a team of attorneys to enable wider prosecution of safety-violating companies.
Take-Aways:
Employers must not skimp on safety, for sake of employee well-being and to protect against such disastrous and expensive consequences.
For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.
See also:
- New Health and Safety Protections for Domestic Workers: Some Now Covered by Cal/OSHA Safeguards (July 11, 2025)
- Pee-Uw! Cal/OSHA Fines Two Plumbing Companies for Safety Violations and Worker Injury (February 28, 2025)
- Not So Safeway? Cal/OSHA Cites Supermart for Serious Hazardous Conditions in Warehouse (February 14, 2025)
Helena Kobrin
September 5, 2025