The family of Korey Ryan, who died at 27 while working as an intern at Nucor Steel, is suing the company for negligence leading to his death.
Ryan was changing a water filter in October when a crane passed him and pinned his foot to the floor, which then essentially dragged him and pinned him against a steel beam, where he was crushed to death, according to the suit.
"It is evident that Nucor did not provide him a safe working environment as an intern, and this man had a bright future in this industry," said Paul Patterson, an attorney for the family.
Ryan was a student at Shelton State Community College and had been working with Nucor since July.
A call to Nucor went unreturned Tuesday.
"It's really just a terrible case that could have been avoided if simple and inexpensive protective barriers had been placed in between the crane and the filtration system," Patterson said.