"Texas worker accused of being on drugs was actually dying of heatstroke"

The mother of a 24-year-old worker who died from heatstroke while working for a construction firm in San Antonio, Texas, has filed a lawsuit against his employer [B Comm Constructors].

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The lawsuit comes after Texas’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, signed a controversial bill into law on 14 June that prohibits local municipalities from enacting heat protection standards for construction workers. The bill nullifies ordinances previously passed in Austin and Dallas that mandated 10-minute breaks for workers every four hours. A similar ordinance was being considered in San Antonio before the state bill was passed.

According to the lawsuit, Infante began exhibiting heatstroke symptoms including confusion, altered mental state, dizziness and loss of consciousness. His friend and co-worker Joshua Espinoza began pouring cold water over him, trying to cool him down. A foreman insisted Espinoza call the police, claiming Infante’s bizarre behavior was due to drugs, and the foreman pushed for a drug test when emergency medical services arrived.

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed a fine of $13,052 against the construction firm for failing to protect workers from heat hazards on the job, which the company is contesting.

Infante’s mother is seeking $1m in damages for her son’s death in the lawsuit, noting there were no safeguards or protections in place by the employer to protect workers from extreme heat, nor were there any training or heat-related illness prevention programs or policies in place by the employer at the time.

B Comm Constructors did not respond to multiple requests for comment.