Settlement Reached in Dryer Death Case

Associated Press

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The widow of a Cintas Corp. worker who died after falling into an industrial dryer in Tulsa has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the nation's largest uniform supplier.

Thursday's settlement with the Cincinnati-based company came four days before a federal trial was to begin in Tulsa.

Details of the settlement were confidential and attorneys for Amalia Diaz Torres could not comment on the case.

In her lawsuit, Torres claimed the company's plant managers knew about -- and even encouraged -- dangerous working practices that led to the death of her husband, Eleazar Torres-Gomez, in 2007.

Cintas had denied the allegations, saying it never put profits over worker safety.

Both sides had struggled to find common ground in the high-profile labor case, and tried unsuccessfully to settle it through court-ordered mediation.