Roy Wejnert of Maywood was killed Jan. 21, 2015 at McCain Ellio's Foods, 11 Gregg St. in Lodi.
Roy Wejnert (Family photo) LODI - The family of a man killed when a 1,000-pound electrical panel fell on him at a frozen foods plant has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against two businesses.
Roy Wejnert of Maywood was killed Jan. 21, 2015 at McCain Ellio's Foods, 11 Gregg St., in Lodi. McCain sold and transferred ownership of the property to D.O. Properties a few months before the accident, making both businesses liable for the death, alleges the lawsuit filed earlier this year in Bergen County Superior Court.
Wejnert, 62, was an electro-mechanical technician who was told by a supervisor to remove components from an old electrical control panel. The panel was 7.25-feet high, more than 5-feet wide, more than a foot deep and weighed nearly 1,000 pounds, according to the suit.
As Wejnert removed electrical circuit boards and other components, the panel fell on him, according to the suit and a police report.
The police report states Wejnert was found "unconscious on the floor with an electrical panel box laying on top of him." When officers arrived, they found employees performing CPR on Wejnert. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
The cause of death was compressional asphyxia/chest trauma and cervical spine fracture. Wejnert "sustained pain and suffering and death," according to the suit.
McCain Ellio's Foods, 11 Gregg St., Lodi. (Google Street View) The lawsuit accuses McCain Foods of negligence, claiming they should have known the panel was in a dangerous condition and posed an unreasonable risk to anyone on the property.
"McCain knew or had reason to know that the (panel) was unstable, unsecured, that its legs had substantial rust and dry rot and was (in a) dangerous condition," the suit states.
The suit accuses McCain Foods of failing to disclose the dangerous condition to the new property owners, D.O. Properties.
D.O. Properties also had a duty to inspect the property for dangerous conditions, which they failed to do, the lawsuit states.
Substitute teacher traumatized child: suit
The lawsuit was filed under New Jersey's Wrongful Death Act and alleges the defendants' "acts and/or omissions" resulted in Wejnert's death.
The suit seeks to recover hospital, medical, nursing, funeral and estate administration expenses, along with unspecified compensatory damages.
Representatives for McCain Foods in Lisle, Ill. and D.O. Properties in Lodi did not respond to requests for comment.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.