Mother of teen killed in Menards forklift accident files wrongful death lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota family is suing a big-box retailer in a wrongful death claim.
James Stanback's death in 2021 led to emotional protests outside Menards in Golden Valley.
The 19-year-old was working there when he was crushed by a stack of lumber while operating a forklift.
"From then on, my life has been a blur," said Meghan Klein, Stanback's mother.
Klein says her son only planned to work there for the summer before going to college.
"He was just starting out in life, and didn't get a chance," she said.
A lawsuit Klein's filed against Menards says Stanback was still a trainee, about a month into the job, and wasn't being supervised.
"If someone would've been out there with James, they could've maybe forewarned him," Klein said.
The suit also claims Menards employees were negligent in how they trained Stanback and in providing him the proper equipment to do the job.
According to the lawsuit, the pallets that fell weighed 9,000-to-12,000 pounds, which "significantly exceeded and overwhelmed the weight limit for the safety cage" on the forklift.
The Minnesota Department of Labor's OSHA later fined Menards $25,000, citing unsafe conditions relating to the stack of lumber involved in the incident.
Menards first contested, then later paid, the fine, without admitting to any wrongdoing.
The OSHA report said Menards had a written forklift training program in place, and that Stanback was certified to operate a month before what happened.
The lawsuit says that certification came just three days after Stanback was hired.
Menards told WCCO they're unable to comment on pending litigation. Klein and her attorneys are seeking damages beyond what workers' compensation can provide.
She also wants to see meaningful change in Menards training policies.
"I'm mad. I'm hurt. I'm disappointed," Klein said. "I wouldn't want nobody else to go through this."
According to the lawsuit, Menards employees told OSHA investigators that several people had expressed concern to managers over how high the lumber was stacked.
