meatplant.jpg

Interstate Meat Distributors at 9550 S.E. Last Road in Clackamas.

(Michael Bamesberger/The Oregonian)

The family of a man who was killed while cleaning an industrial meat blender is suing the company that owned the machine for more than $5 million.

The wife, children and parents of 41-year-old Hugo Avalos-Chanon of Portland claim Interstate Meat Distributors did not follow standard safety procedures to ensure that the machine was properly shut off and could not start up until the maintenance work was finished.

Avalos-Chanon worked for a contractor, DCS Sanitation Management, that Interstate Meat hired to do work at its Clackamas plant. He was using a garden hose to spray hot water on a meat-blending machine during nightly maintenance on April 26, 2013.

"While Mr. Avalos-Chanon was working, the power to the mechanical blender was turned on. (He) was pulled into the machine, legs first and was killed," according to the Clackamas County Circuit Court lawsuit filed last week.

"As a result of Interstate Meat Distributors' failure to provide a safety guard within the mechanical blender on its premises, Mr. Avalos-Chanon suffered a painful and tragic death, evidenced by the screams heard by fellow workers," the lawsuit said.

Darrin Hoy, president of Interstate Meat, did not respond Monday to a request for comment. The company grinds raw meat and packages and distributes hamburger to commercial customers in Oregon and southwest Washington.

There were no witnesses to what happened.

a coupling that connected two lengths of hose might have dislodged when Avalos-Chanon pulled on the hose.

A portion of the hose apparently fell into a mixing tank, wrapped around a mixing bar and pulled Avalos-Chanon into the machinery, according to an Oregon OSHA report.

A state medical examiner said Avalos-Chanon died from "blunt-force injuries and chopping wounds."

A few days after the incident, state investigators observed DCS Sanitation employees with hoses wrapped around their bodies as they cleaned machines that were running, according to the agency's report.

The state agency

and

.

State OSHA inspectors had cited Interstate Meat in October 2012 after finding that machinery in the meat-grinding room wasn't properly locked down during cleaning. Inspectors said an "unexpected start-up of the machine" could cause injuries.

The lawsuit does not name DCS Sanitation as a defendant. Ramon Pagan, the family's attorney, declined to say why.

-- Steve Mayes

503-294-5916; @ocmayes