And you thought you had it rough at work. An Iowa man is suing his former employer, claiming that he got buried alive for 20 minutes. The terrifying incident happened after a trench collapsed at an Iowa construction site. Now, the worker is placing the blame with his employer.
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Trevor Kilgore filed a complaint in the Iowa District Court. He previously worked for Iowa-based contractor Edwards Enterprises. The company was doing a job at a home that involved excavating and plumbing.
Kilgore worked on the plumbing connection for the property. Meanwhile, his co-worker dug a trench using an excavator. However, Kilgore claims that the co-worker lacked the proper OSHA education and training "to ensure compliance with OSHA excavation safety requirements for this excavation job."
Kilgore also alleges that Gregg Edwards, the president of Edwards Enterprises, did not oversee the safety of the trench. The trench ended up collapsing while Kilgore was working inside, burying him under a wall of dirt.
Using quick thinking, the Iowa worker scrunched up his body to create an air pocket. He explained, "I looked behind me and that entire wall was coming at me. 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."
Buried ALive
Kilgore was buried alive by a wall of dirt that was 12 foot deep. The weight of the dirt crushed him.
"While buried alive, Trevor Kilgore thought he was going to die," read the complaint. It took 10 minutes to free his head and neck. But it took an additional 15 to 20 minutes to fully free him.
"While buried alive, even after his head was uncovered, Trevor 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," said the complaint.
The complaint claims Gregg Edwards told a Polk County deputy, "Everybody can talk about shoring and boxes, everybody can do all that s***. Is it unsafe? Abso-f***ing- lutely. But it's hard to make it safe. You gotta get a guy in there to make it safe."
The complaint alleges that Kilgore suffered permanent injuries after being buried alive in the trench.
"As the designated competent person for this job, Defendant Edwards was required to know all applicable OSHA excavation safety rules and regulations before any excavation began," read the complaint.
"Defendant Edwards knew that failure to follow these excavation safety requirements made it highly probable that Trevor Kilgore would be seriously injured or killed," the complaint later added.
