Employee hurt in ADM plant explosion seeking more than $50,000 in damages

(Editors note: An earlier version of this story said McElrath was seeking $50,000 in damages, but he is, in fact, seeking in excess of $50,000.)

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - An employee at Archer-Daniels Midland Company has filed a lawsuit against the company after he was seriously injured in an explosion at the West Plant.

Antonio McElrath is suing ADM over the explosion on April 20, 2023 that happened at the West Plant at 43883 E. Fairies Parkway. McElrath was a production worker in the plant. On the day of the explosion, he was assigned to work in the corn germ unloading and elevating operation.

WAND News asked ADM for a comment. They said, "As a general rule, we do not comment on pending litigation."

In the lawsuit, McElrath said the explosion happened in the area of an indoor bucket elevator referred to as "Leg 1." He said Leg 1 contained a deflagration detection system and a chemical suppression system for explosion protection/deflagration propagation protection.

He said the safety systems require specific maintenance actions, inspections, tests, and simulated discharges at regular intervals for them to be considered in a fully operable condition.

The lawsuit states safety testing is required to be done on a regular basis, with some systems being tested at least on a quarterly basis and some required to be tested annually.

McElrath said that on the date of the explosion in 2023, no inspections, tests, or necessary maintenance actions to keep the safety systems in a fully operable condition had been done since late 2016.

The lawsuit said combustible agricultural dust, including dehydrated corn germ, had accumulated in the indoor Leg 1 bucket elevator and the surrounding area, exceeding the 1/8-inch accumulation threshold that required immediate removal.

It goes on to state that Leg 1 was operating in a manner that allowed combustible grain dust to be exposed to fuel, oxygen, containment, suspension, and ignition sources that could result in an explosion or fire. "ADM knew that these factors would lead to the explosion," the lawsuit states.

McElrath said he was unaware of the unsafe conditions and claims ADM denied him access to that information.

McElrath detailed the afternoon of the explosion, saying he arrived at the West Plant for work at 2:50 p.m. He said he received no notice from the outgoing shift that there was anything unusual happening in Leg 1 prior to the explosion and performed his normal job duties until the explosion.

Just before the explosion, McElrath said his direct supervisor noticed smoke coming from Leg 1. He said the supervisor directed him to go to a specific location in the West Plant and shut down Leg 1 due to the smoke and stay in that location while Leg 1 was opened.

Once Leg 1 was opened, McElrath said there was a popping sound followed by the explosion.

McElrath said he was standing in the direct path of the explosion at the "express direction of ADM via its employees and/or agents."

McElrath suffered third-degree burns to his face, head, eyes, neck, scalp, hands, arms, legs, and abdomen. He was placed in a medically induced coma for three weeks following the explosion.

OSHA performed inspections at the West Plant following the explosion. Subsequent inspections have resulted in four citations to date, including two that OSHA categorized as "willful" violations. The citations resulted in a total of $312,518 in penalties assessed to ADM, as well as a written abatement plan requiring ADM to address the willful violations and comply with maintenance and inspection routines.

The citation relating to Leg 1 resulted in an individual penalty of $156,259 to ADM.

The lawsuit goes on to state that the West Plant has experienced multiple agricultural dust fires and explosion since at least 2018, including dust explosions on Nov. 3, 2018 and Jan. 4, 2019, and dust fires on May 9, 2019 and Oct. 20, 2019. A smoldering event happened on July 28, 2024, the lawsuit said. It said that event prompted an evacuation due to smoke being detected in a grain elevator.

McElrath is seeking in excess of $50,000 in the lawsuit.

Download PDF