Owners of a major family farm in Nash County say an autopsy is evidence that they're not to blame for the death of a seasonal Mexican farmworker who fell ill while on the job.
The North Carolina Department of Labor fined Barnes Farming $187,509 in March following a workplace death investigation.
The department cited Barnes Farming with a “willful serious violation,” along with two other “serious” violations, with the maximum penalty.
Barnes Farming appealed the citations, which is still under review by the Department of Labor's Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission, according to a department spokesperson. The department declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
Barnes Farming is owned by Johnny Barnes, who is the spouse of Republican state Sen. Lisa Barnes — who was recently reelected.
José Arturo González Mendoza, 29, died after falling unconscious while picking sweet potatoes on Sept. 5, 2023, for Barnes Farming, in the town of Spring Hope.
He arrived from Mexico days less than two weeks before to work for Barnes Farming under a temporary visa through the H-2A guestworker program.
Several media outlets — including WUNC — reported that his death was heat-related.
González Mendoza is featured in WUNC's special project exploring the challenge of rising heat for outdoor workers, "Scorched Workers".
The day González Mendoza died, both the high temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit and the average temperature that day were the highest recorded for a Sept. 5 since 2000, according to National Weather Service data.
An autopsy report reveals he didn't directly die from a heat illness, like heatstroke — but it's likely he showed similar symptoms.
What the autopsy said
González Mendoza's death was likely caused by heart issues from a rare tumor found on an adrenal gland, according to an autopsy report from the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
"In my opinion, his demise was due to possible cardiac arrhythmia in the setting of undiagnosed pheochromocytoma," wrote Dr. Anuradha Arcot in the report's conclusion. Arcot is a clinical pathologist based in Jacksonville.
The autopsy was conducted last year but publicly released last month. The release of autopsies by the state can be delayed for months at a time pending investigations and other factors.
The symptoms of pheochromocytoma, an adrenal tumor, are similar to an adrenaline rush, and can resemble heatstroke, Arcot told WUNC in an interview.
Its symptoms can include rapid heart rate, profuse sweating, high blood pressure and body aches.
James Payne, an attorney representing Barnes, says the report's medical conclusion is evidence that the farm isn't at fault for his death and the citations "are false and erroneous."
Payne filed an official legal complaint against the NCDOL over the matter, according to The News & Observer.
“This report clearly shows that Mr. González Mendoza died as a result of a pre-existing condition,” Payne said in a news release. “NC OSHA made its conclusion without the findings of fact and then pursued an investigation under the assumption that Mr. González Mendoza died from cardiac arrest as a result of heat-related conditions, environmental exposure, and dehydration. Without qualification to make such a determination, NC OSHA concluded in error that Mr. González Mendoza’s was a result of heat conditions."
Payne was not immediately available for comment for this story, according to a spokesperson for Payne's law firm.
In a legal complaint, Payne also accused labor inspectors of conducting "an illegal search under the Fourth Amendment," according to the N&O.
The NCDOL's citations include violations that not only affected Gonzalez Mendoza, but other farmworkers who did not fall ill.
The original citations say Barnes Farming “failed to implement adequate control measures to prevent employees from experiencing heat-related illnesses.” It accused the farm of only scheduling a five-minute break for a six-hour workday, inadequate access to water, no breaks in air conditioning or protocol for emergencies involving heat-related illnesses.
Payne previously told the N&O that if any other workplace violations occurred, they were due to “unpreventable employee misconduct.”
The autopsy's conclusion
Arcot, who conducted the autopsy, said she reached a "diagnosis of exclusion," which is done by eliminating other possible conditions when few information is available.
The rare tumor she found was benign but may still have caused symptoms.
"It is very difficult to pinpoint and say (the illness) was due to the work," said Arcot. "All that I can say is that because of the tumors, this is the most likely possibility."
There were no signs of dehydration indicative of heatstroke, according to Arcot. However, she wasn't able to document whether González Mendoza had symptoms of cardiac issues while living.
Still, Arcot says there isn't evidence to show that heat didn't put him more at risk of death due to his conditions.
