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The family of Tony Lee Stafford settled a worker’s compensation claim in March for an undisclosed amount. Stafford was killed after a pallet fell on top of him, crushing him underneath. While he survived the initial accident, he died from his injuries two weeks later on July 14, 2023.

In addition to the worker’s compensation claim, the family has filed a third-party claim against Golden Gourmet. While Stafford was employed by The Staffing People, he was working at Golden Gourmet when the accident occurred. The family has also filed a wrongful death and medical malpractice suit against Phoebe Physicians Group, stating that they did not use an anticoagulant after Stafford’s surgery.

The Americus Times-Recorder reached out to Golden Gourmet on July 10, and was told that neither the general manager or the shelf stable production coordinator, the supervisor listed in the OSHA report, had any comment.

Phoebe-Sumter issued a statement when asked about the lawsuit. “Our legal team is currently reviewing this lawsuit and has not had an opportunity to fully analyze the claims contained within it. While HIPAA protections prevent us from discussing this medically complex case in detail, we are confident our care teams provided quality care. We are saddened any time one of our patients does not recover from serious illness, and our thoughts are with Mr. Stafford’s loved ones.”