Worker is buried alive in construction site accident, Iowa suit says. ‘Please save me’
.png "A worker was buried alive under dirt in a workplace accident in Iowa, according to a lawsuit.")
An Iowa man is suing after he says he was buried alive by dirt while working at a construction site.
On June 12, 2023, Trevor Kilgore was working at a new home construction site in Polk County, according to a lawsuit filed Dec. 5.
Kilgore was working for Gregg Edwards with Edwards Enterprises, which had been subcontracted by R and D Plumbing. Kilgore and other workers were tasked with hooking up water and sewer lines in a trench roughly 12 feet deep, according to a civil complaint.
McClatchy News reached out to R and D Plumbing but was unable to reach anyone. Edwards declined a request for comment.
Another employee dug the trench but “did not use a support system, shield system, or other protective system,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also said the trench was dug with the wrong measurements.
The trench “violated multiple OSHA excavation safety rules and regulations,” the lawsuit said.
Kilgore got inside the trench and began working while another worker began operating an excavator and digging while Kilgore was inside, the court document said.
Kilgore was working inside the “improperly benched, improperly shored, inadequately-protected trench” when the trench wall “suddenly collapsed, fully burying Trevor alive under a wall of dirt,” the lawsuit said.
He scrunched his body to try and protect his head and create an air bubble for himself. After he was completely covered with dirt, an employee heard Kilgore say, “Please save me. Don’t let me die,” according to the civil complaint.
The dirt “crushed” Kilgore’s entire body, the lawsuit said.
“While buried alive, Trevor Kilgore thought he was going to die… (He) worried that his wife would have to take care of his kids because he thought he might die in the trench,” the lawsuit said.
After about five to 10 minutes, the dirt was cleared from around Kilgore’s head, the lawsuit said. The rest of his body was still buried for roughly 20 more minutes.
“Edwards told a Polk County deputy at the site of the cave-in, ‘Everybody can talk about shoring and boxes, everybody can do all that (expletive). Is it unsafe? Abso-(expletive)-lutely. But it’s hard to make it safe. You gotta get a guy in there to make it safe,’” the lawsuit said.
Edwards told authorities he was not at the site at the time of the incident. Kilgore’s attorney said Edwards knew the risks of unsafe trench work because he worked at another site in 2016 where a worker died in a trench cave-in, the lawsuit said.
Kilgore was taken to a hospital and suffered numerous medical issues from the incident, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit is asking for an undetermined amount in damages.
