Mother Of Deceased Cannabis Worker Sues Marijuana Giant Claiming Wrongful Death And Negligence

Laura Bruneau, the mother of Lorna McMurrey is suing Trulieve Cannabis Corp. TCNNF claiming wrongful death and negligence. The news comes several days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that McMurrey died from “occupational asthma,” confirming the first such case in U.S. cannabis history.

“Trulieve needs to be held accountable. It was their job to protect Lorna. Lorna was my

 life. This company took my whole life away from me. You can't have the big cannabis industry come into Massachusetts and not protect Lorna and other workers,” Bruneau stated in a press release issued Tuesday. 

According to the document, one of Lorna’s final text messages to her mother on Jan. 4, 2022, read: “This place doesn’t care about people, just money.” 

Benzinga reached out to Trulieve for comment but did not receive a response at time of publication.  

Background

On Jan. 4, McMurrey (27) complained that she could not breathe, presumably due to cannabis kief (cannabis dust) in the air where she was grinding and packaging pre-rolls. She was taken to a local hospital where she died on Jan. 7, 2022.

In Oct. 2022, McMurrey’s family told a local NBC station that Lorna smoked cannabis from time to time but had never experienced asthma until she began working at the Trulieve facility. Her mother mentioned another incident that occurred two months before her daughter's death, in which they realized she was developing asthma.

Lawsuits Alleges Negligence 

In a complaint filed Monday in Hampden County Superior Court in Massachusetts, Bruneau states that her daughter's “tragic and preventable death” was the result of negligence by Trulieve and its affiliates “with respect to the design and installation of the HVAC system,” writes MJBizDaily. 

The suit states that “the grinding machines were often operated without air filters and were operated in this manner on the day of the incident.”

The CDC report also confirmed that cannabis dust from the grinder was collected by a shop vacuum, but that the “vacuum had no high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, and visible dust escaped.”

The complaint alleges that the HVAC system “failed to properly ventilate the facility, and often leaked, causing mold to grow on the cannabis product.”

“In addition, the Trulieve Defendants, as owner and/or operators of the Facility, as well as their employee, Defendant, Todd Grover (Safety Manager), failed to create and/or implement safety policies, practices, procedures to minimize the risks of exposure to airborne cannabis dust and/ mold inside the Facility,” the lawsuit reads.

According to Jeremy M. Carroll, one of the attorneys working on behalf of Lorna

 McMurrey’s family, “The Defendants in this burgeoning industry failed to develop and

 implement appropriate safety policies across its facilities throughout the United States, including its Holyoke Facility. Had they done so, Lorna McMurrey would be alive today.” 

Accountability 

McMurrey’s family now seeks accountability from Trulieve and its contractors for what they view as disregard for employee safety, in hopes of preventing similar incidents in the future. It is asking for a jury trial and unspecified damages. 

Massachusetts Sounds The Alarm 

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is now working on safety guidance for cannabis workers. Dr. Robert Goldstein of the DPH recently called on the state to work with health care providers to protect people who work similar jobs to that of McMurrey, writes MassLive. 

“The legalized cannabis industry is relatively new, and the impact on the health and safety of workers demands our careful attention,” Goldstein said.

Photo: Courtesy of Wesley Tingey on Unsplash