POLK COUNTY, IOWA — A Polk County man is suing a metro homebuilder and its subcontractors – including his former employer – after he was injured in a trench collapse while working in unsafe conditions, according to a lawsuit filed this week.

Trevor Kilgore says he was standing in the bottom of an improperly dug and reinforced trench that measured twelve-feet deep and ten-feet wide when the wet soil collapsed around him – burying him alive in June 2023. In his lawsuit, Kilgore asserts that he was put in harm’s way due to the negligence and lack of training and supervision of multiple parties.

The lawsuit names Jerry’s Homes, Inc., R & D Plumbing and Edwards Enterprises of Altoona as well its owner – Gregg Edwards – and one of his employees – Troy Herrig. The collapse happened in the 200 block of 13th Street in Bondurant at the site of a new home being built by Jerry’s Homes. R & D Plumbing – the exclusive plumbing contractor for Jerry’s Homes, according to the lawsuit – subcontracted with Edwards Enterprises of Altoona to dig a trench that would supply lines for water, sewer and stormwater to the home.

The trench, according the lawsuit, was approximately 12-feet deep, with a maximum with of 10-feet and a length of 50-feet. On June 12th, 2023, Kilgore was working in the bottom of the trench while Herrig was operating an excavator at surface level above him when the walls of the trench collapsed and buried him at approximately 1:25 pm.

Kilgore claims in the lawsuit that he dove against the wall of the trench as the dirt poured in and “scrunched” his body as he was buried. This protected his head and created an air pocket that allowed him to keep breathing. Kilgore reported seeing the wall falling in, hitting his head on the wall and then yelling for help. He reportedly told Herrig through the dirt “Please save me. I don’t want to die”, according to the lawsuit.

As Herrig worked to clear the dirt from on top of Kilgore, his boss – Gregg Edwards – arrived at the scene and called 911 at 1:36pm. Kilgore had been buried for up to five minutes before the call was placed.

Kilgore’s head was uncovered and an oxygen tank was brought in by first responders to keep him breathing as the work continued to dig him out. By 1:51pm his legs had been freed. At 1:55pm – approximately 30 minutes after being buried – Kilgore climbed a ladder out of the hole with the help of first responders. The ladder was provided by firefighters as Edwards hadn’t supplied his workers at the site with a ladder, according to the lawsuit.

Kilgore was diagnosed with a list of physical injuries – including crush injuries in his head, shoulder, arm, abdomen, lower back, pelvis and lower leg and a referral to a psychologist to discuss PTSD. Doctors reported Kilgore complained of being unable to sleep and that “all he sees is dirt” when he closes his eyes.

Those psychological issues have continued since the collapse, with the lawsuit claiming in part:

As a result of being buried alive in the trench collapse on June 12, 2023, Trevor Kilgore
continues to actively treat for his mental health issues, including Posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) which remains highly symptomatic and causes symptoms including but not limited to:
“mood liability, concentration problems,” “generalized worry, panic attacks, nightmares,
hyperarousal,” “insomnia,” “speech delay, trouble finding words,” “impaired concentration and
attention, memory impaired,” and “continues to struggle finding words for what he is trying to
say.

All of this could have been avoided, Kilgore claims in the lawsuit, if his employer or the companies that contracted them had ensured a safe workplace.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has clearly defined rules for proper trenching. In any trench deeper than four-feet, walls must be supported by a trench box or the trench must be dug at a slope or include “benches” – or relief cuts that slowly widen the hole in a stairstep pattern. The hole he was working in had benches measuring one-foot in width for every five-feet of depth, Kilgore told authorities. This would be a clear violation of even basic OSHA trenching rules, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, in an interview with OSHA officials days after the collapse, Edwards admitted “I know I f—ed up, okay.”

Kilgore accuses Edwards of failing to train his employees – including Herrig – on proper trenching techniques and safe jobsite practices. He also accuses Edwards, R & D Plumbing and Jerry’s Homes of failing to adequately supervise the jobsite before the trench collapse. He’s seeking unspecified damages for his physical injuries and ongoing mental anguish as well as the Loss of Consortium – or companionship and quality time – with his wife and son.

Jerry’s Homes and R& D Plumbing are accused of Negligence while Edwards and Herrig are accused of Gross Negligence.

Kilgore is being represented jointly by R. Saffin Parrish-Sams of West Des Moines and former US Representative Bruce Braley who now practices law in Denver, Colorado.