FedEx worker killed in third hub fatality in 40 months

A FedEx employee died early Thursday at the Memphis International Airport hub, the third FedEx worker killed in an accident there over the past 40 months.

A woman, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the hub just after 12:30 a.m., according to Memphis Police.

Officers responded to a call of an accidental injury at 2907 Sprankle, on the airport property where FedEx operates its world hub.

The woman was part of a two-person team assigned to unload an aircraft, police said. She was found under a motorized mobile conveyor belt system. Police said it is unknown how the accident occurred.

The FedEx spokesman confirmed the death was a work-related accident but had no other details.

The company released a statement:

"Words cannot convey the sadness we feel over the loss of our team member in an accident at the Memphis hub. Our prayers are with our colleague's family, friends, and co-workers. We are cooperating with authorities in their investigation."

More: State cites FedEx, proposes fine for fatal accident

Memphis attorney Jeffrey Rosenblum, who has represented the families of the most recent two employees killed at the hub, said his clients have wanted FedEx to work with the vendors who make the equipment used at the hub.

“I question why there have been two and now three deaths’’ over the past 3.5 years, Rosenblum said. “In the years preceding, you have to go way back before you see another death.’’

The last death of a FedEx employee at the Memphis airport was almost exactly two years ago on Nov. 22, 2015. A cargo tug operator, Christopher Higginbottom, 39, was crushed by a loaded dolly he was towing.

He fell off the tug and was run over by the dolly, said Rosenblum, who argued the tug’s manufacturer should have installed a seat belt or other safety systems or provided warnings. There is an active lawsuit.

Before that, material handler Chandler Warren, 19, was crushed by a giant cargo lift on July 2, 2014.

The lift’s machinery with its accordion-like arms was being controlled by a fellow employee, up high near the plane’s cargo opening, Rosenblum said. That worker could not see that Warren, who was below, was in danger of being crushed, he said.

The equipment vendor should have installed motion sensors, buttons or other safety devices to shut off the lift before someone could be hurt, Rosenblum said.

That lawsuit with the vendor was settled out of court to the family’s satisfaction, he said.

Exceptions exist, but Tennessee law states when employees are hurt on the job their only remedy against their employer is a workers' compensation claim, Rosenblum said. He credited FedEx for pursuing the maximum amount of workers' comp for his clients.

“They want to pay the maximum benefit under the law,’’ Rosenblum said. “They did everything they were supposed to do with regard to those two claims.’’

But with a third hub death in 40 months, the attorney said FedEx should address the dangerous pattern at the hub.

“I think FedEx has a duty to tell every vendor, ‘We want to buy the safest pieces of equipment we can,' ’’ Rosenblum said. “ ‘We want our engineers to work with your engineers.' ’’

Glen Thomas, a spokesman for the airport and its police department, said earlier Thursday that he had little information on what happened but that Memphis Police are investigating.

"Certainly, it’s terrible news any time, but especially on Thanksgiving morning and certainly, our hearts go out to the employee and their family and all the co-workers over there," Thomas said.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.