Corden sued over man killed during training exercise

BOULDER — The mother of a 21-year-old Westminster man who was killed during a first-responder training session at Corden Pharma International GmbH’s Boulder facility has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Swiss company and its Boulder subsidiary.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Boulder District Court by Hollie Dreiling on behalf of the wrongful-death beneficiaries in the case of her son, Leopold “Leo” Dreiling, who was killed on Jan. 11, 2023, during a confined-space entry and rescue training performed at the Corden Pharma facility at 2075 55th St. in Boulder.

The lawsuit alleges that “Leo Dreiling was attached to a hoist that was not rated for his weight and was told to climb down a ladder into a sunken pharmaceutical vessel. During his descent, Leo slipped and became wedged in an opening that had a smaller diameter than his torso. With the hoist unable to arrest his fall or lift his weight, Leo asphyxiated in front of other trainees and instructors.”

The lawsuit alleges that the hoist was rated to lift a maximum of 310 pounds, but that at the time of his training, Leo Dreiling weighed 351 pounds.

At 4:23 p.m., the lawsuit alleges, “Leo began descending into the sunken vessel using a ladder. Unbeknownst to Leo, the manway entrance had a diameter of approximately 15 inches, and Leo’s torso at the time was 18 inches.  While descending the ladder, Leo suddenly fell and became stuck in the manway opening. Due to Leo’s weight, the hoist’s locking mechanism was unable to prevent his fall into the opening. Almost immediately after becoming stuck, Leo went limp, his lips turned blue, and he gasped for air. At [4:26 p.m.], six of his peers pulled Leo out of the manway while an additional peer rushed to get an AED machine, which was not present in the training room.”

A Boulder police officer arrived and “found Leo surrounded by approximately 12 people, one of which was frantically performing [cardiopulmonary resuscitation],” the lawsuit alleges. “The responding Boulder police officer retrieved the AED machine from Leo’s peer and continued AED assisted CPR for the next two to five minutes until first responders arrived. Despite the best efforts of Boulder’s first responders, Leo was pronounced dead on the training floor” at 5:19 p.m.

The lawsuit contends that Leo Dreiling’s death “was the direct result of the negligence and fault of defendants Corden International, Corden Boulder, and Corden Colorado” because the companies failed to safely and properly perform the training, properly inspect training equipment, properly provide lifesaving equipment, properly warn participants about training restrictions, and maintain a safe work and training environment.

Hollie Dreiling stated in her lawsuit that she is suing all three entities because she was uncertain as to which employed her son. She seeks damages “which include, but are not limited to, mental anguish, suffering, bereavement, loss of society, loss of comfort, loss of companionship, loss of services, loss of attention, funeral expenses, and all other elements of damages as permitted under … Colorado law.”

Representatives of Corden or its attorneys had not yet returned calls seeking comment as of Tuesday afternoon.

The case in Boulder District Court is Hollie Dreiling, on behalf of the wrongful death beneficiaries for Leopold Dreiling, deceased, versus Corden Pharma International Inc., Corden Pharma Colorado Inc. and Corden Pharma Boulder Inc. Case No. 25-cv-30029.

This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2024 BizWest Media LLC.

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