Regina Allen Elsea, a 20-year-old bride-to-be, was fatally injured while on the job at AJIN USA, located in Cusseta, Alabama.

“Regina was a loving person,” Angel Ogle, Regina’s mother, said. “She loved animals…she never met a person she didn’t love. She was always making everybody laugh. The bright star in the room.”

Just two weeks before her wedding, tragedy occurred.

On June 18, 2016, Regina and three AJIN coworkers were sent to the robotics station to clear a sensor and restart the assembly line after it had stopped, halting production. She and the other workers were inside the operations zone when the machine abruptly restarted and crushed her.

“About 11 a.m., we got a phone call…saying that her arm had got caught in a machine and we needed to get up there,” Angel said.

Regina was initially taken to a hospital in Opelika, Alabama. She was later airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama.

Angel said they sat for hours waiting on news of Regina’s condition.

“About four in the morning, the doctor called us back for the third time. He told us that only 1% of Regina’s brain was working and her organs had failed,” Angel said.

After Regina’s death, Angel was referred to the Beasley Allen Law Firm and began working with Principal attorney Kendall Dunson. He helped guide Angel through her fight for justice in the wrongful death of her daughter.

“Workers like Ms. Elsea want to put in a good day’s work and go home to their families at the end of the day. Every company has a legal obligation to ensure its workers get to do that,” Kendall said. “Unfortunately, companies like AJIN value profits more than the safety and well-being of their employees, and the results are devastating.”

Regina would have been spared from injury and death if her employer had complied with basic workplace safety regulations.

OSHA officials found 51 safety violations at the AJIN plant after her death. All but three of those violations were willful, indicating a purposeful disregard for worker safety. The plant was cited for lockout/tagout violations, where supervisors in Alabama failed to enforce the procedures effectively.

“Had Ajin done their job properly, we would not be here today,” Angel added. “They made the decision to bypass safety features on that machine to allow their employees to go in and fix it to get their product out. To me, Aijin is 100% at fault for my daughter’s death.”

Angel says Kendall was there through every hurdle and hardship, living up to the motto of helping those who need it most.

“Even when it wasn’t part of the case that Kendall and Beasley Allen were part of, the criminal case with the U.S. Attorney General, Kendall and Beasley Allen were still there every step of the way and went with me to every meeting,” Angel recounted. “I would recommend Kendall Dunson to anyone in this situation or any work he does with Beasley Allen. He treated us like family and still does.”

“Regina’s death represents the true cost of the company’s reckless disregard for safety,” Kendall said. “Her life was just getting started. A permanent, painful void exists among her family, friends, and community.”

An Alabama federal court ordered AJIN to pay a $500,000 criminal fine plus $1 million in restitution to Regina’s family. The company must also complete three years of probation, during which Ajin must comply with a safety compliance plan overseen by a third-party auditor.

If you have been injured at work or your employer disregards OSHA regulations, we would like to hear from you. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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