Ramp Agent Sues Airline, Airport over Traumatic Injury

Tyler King, a former ramp agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, is suing the Port of Seattle and Alaska Airlines for negligence after a coworker driving a tug vehicle allegedly struck her on the tarmac in November 2023. The complaint says she suffered “severe and disabling injuries,” including a traumatic brain injury, neck and back injuries and injuries to her right shoulder and hip. King says she still copes with daily pain nearly three years later.
King was helping a team of ramp agents pull a plane back from a gate when a passing tug pulling a luggage cart hit her while working for McGee Air Services, which was contracted by Alaska Airlines.
The Port of Seattle said a video showed the McGee employee driving the tug “was not attentive, didn’t see their co-worker and left the prescribed traffic lane,” violating port rules. The driver was cited, and the worker’s company manager was notified.
Earlier this year, Bishop’s firm reported a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Port of Seattle for another ramp agent, Tia Valentine, who was allegedly ejected from and run down by an airport tug driven by a coworker. Alaska Airlines declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

Two maintenance employees were severely burned Oct. 26 when an accidental discharge of steam filled the area where they were working on a condensate pump at a Griswold Products facility in Plainfield, Connecticut.
One worker was flown to the Rhode Island Hospital Burn Center in Providence, where he was treated for severe burns to his chest, hands, arms and face. The other was taken by ambulance to Backus Hospital in Norwich for burns to his hands and face and has since been released.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state Office of the State Building Inspector are investigating.
Griswold Products manufactures high-performance standard and custom engineered cellular rubber and has operated for more than 75 years.

A construction worker was killed Oct. 27 when a pickup-style dump truck backed into him while he was bent down greasing the bucket of an excavator at Sonrise Christian Church, west of Cedar City, Utah. His identity has not been released.
The truck was operated by another employee of the same construction company. Intermountain Life Flight was dispatched but called off after officials determined the man had died from his injuries.
The sheriff’s office said the circumstances remain under investigation, but the incident appears to be an accident and no charges have been filed.