A construction company president sued by a worker who was buried alive in a trench collapse allegedly admitted to a workplace investigator that he knew he "f—ed up."
The civil suit filed earlier this month on behalf of Iowa man Trevor Kilgore alleges one of the defendants – his boss, Gregg Edwards of Edwards Enterprises – failed to keep him safe while hooking up water, sewer, and stormwater lines for new homes being built by Jerry's Homes in Bondurant, Iowa in June 2023.
Kilgore was working inside a "12-foot deep, improperly benched, improperly shored, inadequately protected trench" when its wall "suddenly collapsed, fully burying Trevor alive under a wall of dirt," the lawsuit reviewed by the Lawyer Herald read.
As the wall fell, Kilgore said he tried to take cover.
"I looked behind me and that entire wall was coming at me," he told a responding deputy while waiting for paramedics, according to the filing. "I tried my best to scrunch, so it didn't crush my head. It smacked my head against the other wall. And then I just yelled for help."
While spending approximately 30 minutes buried in the trench, Kilgore said he "thought he was going to die" and worried about his wife and children.
He claimed he was fully buried for three to five minutes. After five to 10 minutes, fellow workers and another construction crew helped to clear his head, according to the documents. While being dug out, Kilgore "worried that he would not be able to get his lower half out from the dirt and that he might be ripped in half."
Kilgore was transported to a hospital when he was freed.
Doctors diagnosed him with a head injury, contusions on both legs, "crushing" injuries all over his body, and PTSD anxiety.
Two days after the incident, Kilgore's boss, Edwards, spoke with investigators and allegedly admitted: "I know I f––ed up, okay," according to the lawsuit.
Speaking with a responding deputy the day of the event, Edwards allegedly claimed, "I've never had any of my men get buried. It's just like anything else, you know. You do it enough, you're going to get caught."
He added, "Is it unsafe? Absof—inglutely But it's hard to make it safe. You gotta get a guy in there to make it safe."
Kilgore is seeking damages for a "reasonable amount" and requesting a trial by jury.
