AUSTIN, Texas — A new lawsuit claims a recent death at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin was the result of an electrocution.
The family of Victor Gomez Sr. filed a lawsuit in Travis County asking for $1 million in damages after Gomez died on Aug. 1.
According to the lawsuit obtained by KVUE, Gomez was an employee with Belcan, which contracts employees to companies like Tesla.
The lawsuit states that Gomez, a licensed electrician from Pleasanton, Texas, was told to inspect electrical panels before they were energized. However, the lawsuit claims one of the panels already had power which immediately electrocuted him and left him unconscious.
Austin-Travis County EMS transported Gomez to Dell Seton Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Representatives for Gomez say they've hired experts to inspect the property before any evidence is repaired or altered, but say they have yet to receive a response from Tesla. They also ask that the electrical panel in question, along with internal and external surveillance footage, be preserved.
KVUE has reached out to Tesla and Belcan regarding the lawsuit but has not yet heard back. An official cause of death for Gomez has yet to be determined.
Tesla is no stranger to legal issues. Personal injury attorney Adam Muery filed a separate lawsuit against Tesla for alleged injuries related to the autopilot feature.
"What you have to be able to provide is that the company knew of, or really should have known of, an extreme risk," Muery said. "And yet ignored that risk through their processes and procedures. So that's the high burden that they're going to have to meet. Tesla has a tendency to be very, very tough in litigation and they do not have a reputation of trying to settle early on."
Background on Gomez's death
Austin-Travis County EMS and the Travis County Sheriff's Office were called out to the Tesla facility on the morning of Aug. 1.
Deputies with the sheriff's office said they were responding to calls of a "deceased person" while EMS officials said they were called about an adult in cardiac arrest.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the incident after Gomez died, but would not release any more information until their investigation was complete.
A former Washington-based OSHA inspector said the investigation is more about management than the workers.
"They will interview coworkers, they'll interview supervisors, they'll interview managers and sometimes they record the interviews," Rick Gleason said. "It's not about workers, it's about who in management had the authority, the power, to control to have ensured that it was adequately de-energized prior to working on it."