Family files lawsuit in worker’s trash compactor death

Did a maintenance worker willfully enter a trash compactor, or did he fall in? That’s one question involved with a lawsuit filed by the worker’s children, alleging wrongful death.

Six months ago, we told you the story of John Adams, a maintenance worker at the One Niagara building in Niagara Falls, NY.

He’d been missing since July 4, and the building’s security video finally showed Adams either entering or falling into a trash compactor. His body was never recovered.

Now his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the building’s owner and several companies that may have had a hand in manufacturing the compactor.

A safety device on the compactor should have prevented Adams from entering while it was running.

A lawyer for his family maintains there was some type of issue with the safety device.

The lawsuit contends the building owners failed to ensure the compactor was working properly and had an operational safety device to prevent employees from being injured.

One Niagara President Tony Farina denies all of the allegations in the lawsuit and calls Adams death “an accident.”

Whether Adams went into the compactor voluntarily or fell in remains a point of contention.

The lawsuit doesn’t name a specific monetary amount.

OSHA is still investigating the incident.