James Lee Stanback, 19, died in July 2021 just months before he was supposed to start college
Credit: GoFundMe
NEED TO KNOW
- A Minnesota judge recently dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit regarding the 2021 death of 19-year-old James Lee Stanback
- The teen was crushed by a falling stack of lumber while operating a forklift at a Menards in Golden Valley
- The complaint, filed by his mother, claimed unsafe conditions and alleged the lumber was stacked too high and her son, a new hire, did not receive proper training or supervision
A judge in Minnesota dismissed a wrongful death suit filed after a man's family said he was crushed to death at a home improvement store.
James Lee Stanback, 19, died in July 2021 while working at a Menards in Golden Valley, per a lawsuit obtained by PEOPLE filed by his mother, Meghan Klein, in Hennepin County District Court in June 2024.
The complaint alleged that Stanback died after a large stack of lumber fell on him while he was operating a forklift in the store’s lumberyard, crushing him to death.
Credit: gofundme
Stanback’s mother said that her son was only supposed to work at the job during the summer before he started college.
“He was just starting out in life, and didn't get a chance," she said, per CBS News. She added that her “life has been a blur" since she lost her son.
The complaint claimed the lumber that crushed Stanback was stacked too high, creating unstable piles that could collapse. It also alleged that the stack of lumber that Stanback was attempting to move at the time of his death weighed “9,300-12,000 lbs.,” which “significantly exceeded” the weight limit on the forklift’s safety cage.
The complaint further claimed that Stanback had only been hired about a month before the fatal incident, alleging that he was operating the forklift without adequate supervision even though he was still just a trainee.
An employee of the company “told OSHA [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] that employees were frequently pressured by contractors to work quickly and that new hires were rushed through forklift training and not trained properly, with only minimal monitoring,” the complaint alleged.
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The complaint alleged that Stanback “died a tragic, premature and wrongful death” due to the “grossly negligent conduct” of the company and several of Stanback’s co-workers at the time.
Credit: gofundme
However, in an order issued on Feb. 17, Judge Joseph R. Klein of the Minnesota Fourth Judicial District Court dismissed all claims brought forth by Stanback’s family in the wrongful death suit.
The judge said that the complaint did not present adequate allegations that Menards intentionally caused harm to Stanback — which would be the only reason the family would be entitled to damages that exceeded a workers’ compensation benefits.
The judge also stated that the claim did not adequately allege that Stanback’s co-workers acted with gross negligence nor caused intentional harm. He also said that in general, safe working conditions are the responsibility of the employer, not individual employees.
An attorney for Stanback’s mother, as well as attorneys for Menards, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment on the recent ruling.
In a GoFundMe created by Stanback’s mother at the time of his death, she said that her son “was an exceptional young man.”
“He was an overachiever at everything he did. Anything he put his mind to he accomplished,” she continued. “His soul filled every room with rays of light and happiness. He was so excited to be working."
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