Pilgrim’s Pride Not Liable for Worker’s Covid Death, Judge Says

A Covid-19 death liability case against Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. was dismissed by a federal judge after the worker’s survivors couldn’t satisfy the proof requirements of Texas’ Pandemic Liability Protection Act.

The case focused on whether inaction at Pilgrim’s Pride’s Lufkin, Texas, plant led to the death of longtime employee Maria Hernandez on May 8, 2020, her 64th birthday, and about 19 months before Covid-19 vaccines were widely available.

Hernandez’s children, Jose and Oscar Requena, filed the suit on June 9, 2020, seeking more than $1 million in damages from the poultry processor, a subsidiary of Greeley. Colo.-based JBS USA. Filed ...