Family of driver who died hosing out toxic fumes from tanker sues WA trucking company

The family of a truck driver who died while hosing out toxic fumes from a tanker trailer is suing the trucking company for damages. 

The incident happened on June 7th, 2024 near Seattle, Washington at the Two Rivers Terminal, an agricultural products supplier. 

According to a Press Release, 56-year-old truck driver Viktor Voloshin had just made a delivery to the facility when employees at the facility instructed him to clean out the tanker. The workers supplied Voloshin with a ladder to climb into the tanker trailer, and he began to hose out the trailer. At some point, Voloshin was overcome by toxic fumes from the tanker, and his body was discovered at the bottom of the trailer about an hour later by a concerned Two Rivers employee. 

It took first responders three hours to acquire the safety equipment that would allow them to enter the trailer. Once they entered the tanker, they determined that Voloshin was dead, and soon worked to recover his body. 

Court documents show that the state Department of Labor and Industries had fined the company almost $500,000 in 2023 for allowing another worker to open a railcar filled with toxic hydrogen sulfide gas. That worker passed out and fell 12 feet as a result of the fumes, suffering serious injuries. 

“Reading the state notices of violation against Two Rivers that precede Viktor’s death is deeply troubling,” said Simeon Osborn, one of the attorneys representing the Voloshin family. “The state fined Two Rivers for actions that mirror what led to Viktor’s death.”

“Unfortunately, the civil justice system doesn’t allow us to shut down a serial violator for causing someone’s death,” Osborn added. “All we can do is ask a jury of Victor’s peers to level a financial penalty on Two Rivers that is so significant that it compels them to take steps to prevent this from happening again.”

“When Viktor immigrated from Ukraine with his wife seeking a better future for his family, he knew that the fastest path to that security was through hard work,” said David Wieck, the Voloshin’s other lead attorney. “He worked as a truck driver, often away from for long stretches of time, but his efforts allowed he and his wife to raise their children and provide them the opportunity for an education.”

“My father was the glue that held us together,” said Dmitriy Voloshin, one of Voloshin’s 12 children.

“He worked tirelessly to give us opportunities he never had and instilled in us a work ethic each of his kids carry with them today. It was the most helpless feeling in the world, standing there, knowing he was dying or already gone,” Dmitriy said. “No family should have to endure what we went through.”

“This isn’t just about my dad,” Dmitriy added. “It’s about preventing tragedies like this from happening to anyone else. My younger siblings deserve the chance to grow up with the opportunities my dad worked so hard for us to have.”

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for the family’s economic and emotional losses, and calls for reforms in workplace and safety practices.