Any jobsite fatality typically triggers an investigation by OSHA, and often results in a fine. But criminal charges are rare. This month, however, prosecutors in King County, Washington, filed manslaughter charges against the employer of a man killed by a trench collapse while installing a new sewer line at an existing home.
“A Seattle contractor accused of criminal negligence is believed to be the first employer in state history to face felony charges in connection with an employee’s death, according to the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I),” reported the Seattle Times (see: “Seattle contractor charged with felony for employee’s death in 2016 trench collapse,” by Sara Jean Green). “Phillip Numrich is charged with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly violating and ignoring safety regulations, leading to the collapse of a sewer trench at a West Seattle home in January 2016 that killed 36-year-old Harold Felton, say King County prosecutors.”