MEMPHIS, Tenn. — No citations were issued against Memphis-based FedEx after an 86-year-old woman was killed in an accident at the World Hub in November 2023.
86-year-old Verna Mae Jackson, a longtime employee at the FedEx hub, was killed Nov. 29, 2023. According to a report by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), Jackson had worked for FedEx for 25 years, and the last four years in the Address Corrections (Ad-Cor) department.
TOSHA said Jackson’s job was to retrieve packages placed on the wrong conveyer belt and walk them to the appropriate slide. According to the report, an employee on a tug tractor was moving a dolly near one of the slides when they ran over Jackson. The report said the employee followed safety procedures before the accident and was unable to safely move the dolly off Jackson before responders arrived.
The family's lawyer Jeffrey Rosenblum said Jackson was killed when she saw an envelope sticking out of a container and hurried to grab it.
According to the TOSHA report, Jackson had been trained never to walk or stand between the dollies, containers, and baggage carts. The report said several co-workers had warned Jackson to not walk between dollies to retrieve fallen packages, which she would frequently do.
The TOSHA report said no one witnessed the accident, and there were no videos of it happening.
It concluded with “no citations issued.”
"Her family wants the community to know that she loved working for FedEx, and she loved the people that she worked with," said Rosenblum after the accident.
Rosenblum said at the time that safety measures were an issue. "The safety precautions that could've protected her were not in place. This was a completely preventable death.”
According to Rosenblum, the tug driver pulling a load of mail didn't honk adequately enough to signal as they were driving off just as Jackson attempted to grab an envelope that was sticking out of a container.
"There's technology available that would allow the vehicle to make that sound, to warn, to alert that the vehicle is about to move before it moves an inch,” said Rosenblum. “And if we believe those precautions had been taken, if that equipment had been purchased or maybe it was there and not maintained appropriately, she wouldn't be dead.”
In a statement after the accident, FedEx said, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends who are mourning their loved one. Safety is our highest priority and we are investigating the circumstances of this accident.”