Victims of the fatal explosions at B.C.’s Lakeland and Babine sawmills three years ago have launched a class action lawsuit against WorkSafeBC.
Robert Luggi, 45, and Carl Charlie, 42, died in the January 20, 2012 blast that destroyed Babine Forest Products outside Burns Lake and left 19 other employees with injuries, many of them serious.
Slightly more than three months later, Glenn Roche, 46, and Alan Little, 43, died from the severe burns they suffered in the April 23, 2012 explosion at Lakeland Mills in Prince George, which also left more than 20 others with injuries.
They're claiming that prior to the January 20, 2012 disaster at Babine, WorkSafeBC "knew or ought to have known that in sufficient concentrations, wood dust is combustible and poses a serious risk of explosion."
They're also claiming a list of "investigative failure" by WorkSafeBC following the two blasts, including following "generally recognized investigative best practices" and considering the possibility that criminal negligence charges were warranted.
WorkSafeBC failed to "take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of the mills and to competently investigate the explosions" and subsequently betrayed class action members' trust and denied them just for their suffering and deaths of their loved ones."
