EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Two new lawsuits were filed Tuesday on behalf of the victims of the deadly Amazon warehouse collapse in Edwardsville last December.
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of DeAndre Morrow, a St. Louis man who was killed in the storm. A negligent infliction of emotional distress lawsuit was filed on behalf of Amazon drivers Jamarco Hickman, Evan Jensen, Jada Williams, and Deontae Yancey who survived the collapse but "suffered physical or mental harm as a result of Amazon’s negligence," according to their lawyers.
Well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump is among the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
“Amazon had numerous warnings and opportunities to put their employees’ safety first, but they chose their bottom line instead,” said Crump. “As a result, six people needlessly lost their lives and many others suffered injury and mental anguish that will likely last a lifetime."
According to the lawsuits, Amazon allegedly threatened to fire employees who tried to leave the facility and seek shelter at home.
Both lawsuits were filed against Amazon and five companies involved in the design and construction of the facility: Contegra Construction Company, Tristar Properties, Stock & Associates Consulting Engineers, Gray Design Group and McNealy Engineering.
The lawsuits accuse Amazon of failing to provide proper safety procedures in the event of severe weather or natural disaster, and failing to monitor inclement weather before the tornado destroyed the building.
The lawsuits also cite a West County EMA & Fire Protection District report that noted concerns from structural engineers after seeing columns inside the building that “weren’t welded or bolted at the base, but instead only a bead of what appeared to be some sort of caulk around the column at the finished floorline” before adding that they were “very concerned about the stability of the remaining walls and suspended steelwork.”
The family of Austen McEwen, another man who was killed in the tornado and collapse, filed a wrongful death suit against Amazon in January.