Victim identified in fatal accident at store

A Kalispell Walmart employee died four days after an accident at the store. 

Larry Wurtz, 57, of Kalispell, fell from a movable staircase on Aug. 17. 

According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, which released the name of the victim Thursday morning, Wurtz died Aug. 21 from a head injury. The death has been ruled accidental. 

“It’s a really tragic accident,” Walmart spokeswoman Betsy Harden said. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the associate.

“Unfortunately at this point there’s not a lot we can say. It’s certainly something that’s very sensitive. It is something that we’ve looked at internally. We work very hard to provide a safe environment for our associates and we’re working with OSHA.”

There have been conflicting reports about the date of Wurtz’s accident as well as conflicting witness statements. 

Jeff Funke, area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said a Kalispell Walmart employee fell from a movable staircase in a storeroom, was hospitalized and later died from his injuries. 

His agency was notified on Aug. 22 of an employee death at Walmart. 

The initial report was that the man had fallen from a ladder, not a movable staircase. Funke said the investigation also is looking into the time it took an ambulance crew to respond to the store. OSHA regulations require a workplace to “ensure the ready availability of medical personnel” or have employees trained in first aid. 

Funke said the safety agency is sorting out witness statements. 

“I don’t know all of the details right now,” Funke said. “I can’t give a lot of details on an open investigation. The issue is the information has to be gathered, vetted to make sure that it’s true and I have to verify it before I release any information. 

“I can say that an employee fell and then was hospitalized and passed away days later from his injuries. I can’t officially timeline it until I receive the certificate of death. I have talked to the next of kin and told them that OSHA is investigating.”

Funke said OSHA will look into Walmart’s policies and the equipment that Wurtz was using and compare that information to federal standards to determine if a violation had occurred. That process could take months. 

OSHA was at the Kalispell store over the weekend for an inspection. 

“It’s an open investigation,” Funke said. “If we issue citations, then that sort of information is public record and I can release that. The problem with that is it will probably be months. I’m still digging through a lot of the details.” 

Neither the Kalispell Police Department nor the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office were notified of the accident until the Sheriff’s Office received a faxed death notice a couple of days after the accident happened. The Sheriff’s Office subpoenaed medical records for more information. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.