Family of man trampled by cow at Kansas meat-packing plant wins lawsuit appeal

A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a man's death at a southern Kansas cattle processing facility.

Richard D. Gates was killed in 2013 when he was run over by a cow at Creekstone Farms Premium Beef.

A wrongful death lawsuit his family filed was later dismissed by a federal judge who ruled that the company was not liable because any possible dangers at the facility were "open and obvious."

But on Thursday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the judge's decision overlooked the significance of how fencing and pens were configured at the time.

The set-up created what the court called a "blind alley" that caused the cow to turn and run at Gates, a truck driver who had just delivered a load of cattle.

The appeals court found that although the danger from cattle is "ordinarily open and obvious," the danger from a blind alley may not have been.

"A fact-finder could reasonably infer that Mr. Gates could not appreciate the probability and gravity of the danger because of the alleged blind alley," the court said.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Family of man trampled by cow at Kansas meat-packing plant wins lawsuit appeal."