Estate of worker who died in North Slope oil field incident sues Hilcorp Alaska and others

The estate of a worker killed during a snow-removal operation at an Alaska oil field last year is suing oil producer Hilcorp Alaska and others it asserts were at fault for the incident that led to the man’s death.

Randy Lytle, 62, was struck and killed in May by a front-end loader while walking at a job site at Hilcorp’s Milne Point oil field. He was an employee of MagTec Alaska, a drilling support company.

Randi Bowen, one of Lytle’s daughters, is also a plaintiff in the case as the estate’s representative, an attorney for the estate said.

The lawsuit alleges that Hilcorp, contractor CCI Industrial Services, and the vehicle operator who worked for CCI acted with “reckless indifference,” contributing to Lytle’s death.

The complaint asserts that Hilcorp and CCI did not fulfill their duty of taking sufficient steps to prevent the accident, including providing proper signage, training and other safety protocols.

“Their breach of duty was a substantial factor in causing Randy’s death,” the complaint, filed in November, argues.

Hilcorp denied the allegations in a court filing in December, in answer to the complaint. A Hilcorp spokesperson declined to comment, and an attorney for Hilcorp did not return a request for comment.

CCI and the vehicle operator also could not be reached for comment. Court records show CCI and the vehicle operator have not filed a response.

Lytle’s death was the third workplace fatality in the North Slope oil patch over a 13-month period, an unusual string of tragedies in an industry where safety is often strongly emphasized.

Additional deaths in the sector have not been reported since Lytle died, based on state and federal fatality data from occupational safety agencies.

The case is being heard in Anchorage Superior Court.

Bowen, Lytle’s daughter, could not be reached for comment.

“People are responsible for the circumstances that led to this, and we need to hold them to account,” said Darryl Thompson, the attorney for the estate, in an interview Wednesday.

The lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages exceeding $100,000, plus punitive damages and other amounts.

“The actual damages is anticipated to be substantially higher (than $100,000),” Thompson said.

Lytle’s family described his death as “extremely devastating” in a GoFundMe page last year that raised money for lost wages and expenses resulting from the incident.

“Anyone who knows Randy knows that his children and his grandchildren were his entire world,” the post says. “He is survived by his father, 3 daughters, 3 sons, 12 grandchildren, and many nephews and nieces.”

The lawsuit says that shortly before Lytle’s death, he had driven a load of cuttings — pieces of rock or other material removed from a borehole — to a facility at Milne Point.

“As Mr. Lytle was walking across the parking lot to get the truck for offloading, he was struck from behind by the bucket of the Cat 972 loader,” the complaint says.

The loader ran over Lytle after he was knocked to the ground, the complaint says.

The operator was traveling too fast in an area congested with vehicles and pedestrians, with a load of snow that exceeded the maximum bucket volume by up to 3 feet, the complaint argues. The load of snow was carried at a height that blocked the visibility of the vehicle operator, it argues.

Hilcorp and CCI had a responsibility to ensure that enforcement and training on safe loading limits were in place, the lawsuit argues. They should have also taken other steps to prevent the collision, the complaint argues.

“There was insufficient signage, safety precautions, communication polices in place to direct traffic in the highly congested site and/or inadequate safety procedures in place to prevent conflicts between foot and vehicle traffic,” the complaint asserts.