SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A family member has filed a civil lawsuit against a Mitchell company a year after two workers were killed while working on a damaged roof of an 80-foot silo near Volga.
On Sept. 7, 2024, Larry Dalzell, 51 of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Randi Vandekieft, 41 of Warner Robins, Georgia died from exposure to toxic gases.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report, Heartland Tank Inc. faced a $10,000 penalty for the two deaths. OSHA found seven “serious” violations, according to the report.
Heartland Tank Inc. is based in Mitchell and the wife of Larry Dalzell, Jessica Dalzell, claims the company’s negligence played a role in Larry’s death.
“Heartland Tank breached its duties by failing to provide Larry with an adequately safe work environment, including, but not necessarily limited to, providing adequate ventilation, providing working safety ropes for workers conducting work in the silo, and failing to provide training to its workers for working in confined spaces with exposure to nitrogen dioxide,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit, filed by Evans Haigh & Arndt, was submitted on Sept. 17, 2025 in federal court.
