The family of a woman who died from an asthma attack while on the job at a Massachusetts cannabis cultivation and processing facility is suing the company and its HVAC contractors.
The family of 27-year-old Lorna McMurrey has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Hampden County Superior Court against Trulieve and contractors it employed to install the HVAC system in its Holyoke processing facility, attorney’s for the family announced. The suit alleges “gross negligence, recklessness and willful and wanton misconduct,” accusing the company and its contractors of failing to implement policies procedures that would minimize the risk of exposure to airborne cannabis dust and mold in the facility.
McMurrey was filling pre-rolls at the facility in January 2022 when she said she couldn’t breathe. An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found that she had inhaled ground cannabis dust and died of occupational asthma. Trulieve reached a settlement with OSHA earlier this year over her death.
On Tuesday, attorney’s for her family said less than two months before the 27-year-old’s death, on Nov. 9, 2021, she suffered an asthma attack while working in the pre-roll production room “precipitated by significant exposure to cannabis, especially airborne cannabis dust and/or mold particles, in large part due to the failures of the HVAC system at the Facility and lack of safety protocols.”
Read more at boston.com