Landfill Deaths in Wisconsin Lead to Lawsuit

The widow of one of the four men killed in a Superior, Wis., landfill accident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a construction company.

The Superior Daily Telegram reports that Cathy Olsen’s lawsuit contends J. Kimmes Construction was negligent in failing to provide a safe workplace at the construction materials landfill.

Forty-seven-year-old Harold “Tim” Olsen worked for Lakehead Blacktop & Materials and managed the landfill.

Olsen and the three other men died on Nov. 1, 2007, when they were overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas, lost consciousness and fell into a water-filled pit as one after another climbed inside the confined space to assist.

No damages are listed in the filing.

The construction company and its insurer, Acuity of Sheboygan, have until June 29 to respond to the complaint.