Chocolate plant fined following worker’s accidental death

A personal injury lawsuit has been filed against the owners of the US chocolate plant, where a worker died last year after falling into a melting vat as he was mixing cocoa.

The federal authorities have also fined the plant $39,000 for several safety violations, including missing guardrails to prevent the fall, no warning signs or emergency shutoff switch on the platform above the vat and ladders or other rescue equipment.

In July, temporary worker Vincent Smith II was loading raw cocoa into an eight-foot mixing and melting tank when he fell into the hot liquid and was struck on the head by a rotating paddle.

The Smith family is also suing numerous others, including the contractors who designed and built the factory.