SeaWorld of Florida, LLC v. Perez
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
748 F.3d 1202 (D.C. Cir. 2014)
After killer whale Tilikum, with known aggressive history including a prior fatal attack, pulled trainer Dawn Brancheau underwater and drowned her during a show requiring only shallow submersion, SeaWorld (defendant) subsequently barred all waterwork and required trainers to work behind barriers or at a distance; OSHA cited SeaWorld under the Act's general-duty clause, finding the pre-death protocols inadequate and that barrier-based abatement was feasible, a finding SeaWorld's own post-incident changes corroborated.
Whether, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers have a general duty to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.