The call came late Tuesday afternoon. A panicked voice. “My husband, Mark, he’s trapped. The trench collapsed at the High Street site, near the Arena.” We get calls like this far too often. Every year, construction workers here in Columbus and all over Ohio are put at risk in trenches that should be safe. When a construction trench gives way, the results are instant and brutal, leaving workers with life-altering injuries, permanent disabilities, and families facing a financial abyss. So how do you even begin to find justice and get compensation after a disaster like that?
Key Takeaways
- Trench collapses are not freak accidents. They’re preventable and happen because a company cut corners on shoring, didn’t slope the walls correctly, or failed to check the soil, leading to catastrophic injuries or death.
- If you’re a victim of a trench collapse in Ohio, you should be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits to cover your medical bills and some lost pay, and you don’t have to prove your employer was at fault to get it.
- Workers’ comp is just the start. Third-party liability claims let you go after other negligent parties like general contractors, subcontractors, or equipment makers for additional money to cover pain, suffering, and even punitive damages.
- Ohio Revised Code Sections 4123.01 to 4123.99 are the rules of the road for workers’ comp, setting out strict deadlines and procedures you have to follow for filing claims and appealing denials.
- You have to get a law firm that has experience with these exact kinds of construction accident cases. It’s the only way to navigate the claims, find everyone who was responsible, and get the maximum recovery you’re entitled to.
Mark was a 48-year-old pipefitter, a pro with 20 years under his belt, working on a new commercial building downtown, just a few blocks from the Scioto River. He was down in a 12-foot-deep trench laying drainage pipe when an unsupported wall just let go. Tons of dirt came down on him in a split second, pinning him, shattering his pelvis, breaking both his legs, and causing massive internal bleeding. His wife, Sarah, had every reason to be frantic. When a trench collapses, survival isn’t a given. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says trenching is one of the deadliest jobs in construction, killing around 25 workers every year nationwide. And just in 2023, OSHA found several major trenching violations right here in Ohio, which shows these dangers aren’t going away.
After a trauma that severe, the first priority is always just keeping the person alive. Mark was rushed to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center and went through one surgery after another. But while doctors were working on his body, Sarah was left to deal with the financial fallout hitting all at once: the hospital bills were already coming in, Mark’s paychecks had stopped, and their future was a complete unknown. And that’s when the legal maze really opens up for a family trying to recover from a construction trench collapse. You have legal options under Ohio law, but you have to know how the system works to use them.
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Start my free evaluationThe most immediate help for Mark came from workers’ compensation benefits. Ohio runs a no-fault workers’ comp system, which means if you get hurt on the job, you’re entitled to benefits no matter who caused the accident. This is supposed to pay for your medical care, rehab, and a percentage of the wages you’re losing. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) is the agency that runs this, and you absolutely have to pay attention to their deadlines. According to Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.84, you have to file a benefit application within two years of the injury, and that deadline can fly by when your family is just trying to survive day to day.
The problem is, workers’ compensation almost never covers the full extent of what a family loses in a catastrophe like a trench collapse. It won’t pay you for your pain, the emotional hell you’re going through, or what you’ve truly lost in future earning capacity. This brings us to third-party liability, a concept that’s absolutely essential in these cases. While the workers’ comp system usually protects your direct employer from a lawsuit, it doesn’t shield anyone else on the job site. That can mean the general contractor, other subcontractors, the company that made a faulty piece of equipment, or even the owner of the property if they didn’t keep the site safe.
In Mark’s situation, the evidence quickly started pointing toward negligence that went far beyond his own company. The general contractor, a company called “Buckeye Builders Inc.,” had the final responsibility for safety on the whole site, and that included making sure the trenches were safe. OSHA has very specific rules for this (you can find them in 29 CFR 1926.652) that require protective systems like sloping, shoring, or shielding for any trench over five feet deep. A quick look at the site plans and what witnesses were saying suggested Buckeye Builders completely failed to put in the right protections, even though they had geological reports showing the soil near West Broad Street was unstable.
To build a solid third-party claim, you have to do your own investigation, and do it fast. We immediately got our own structural engineer out to the site to document the collapse zone, take photos of everything, and test the soil. An independent analysis like this is often the only way to counter the official story the responsible companies will try to create. At the same time, we started gathering all the paperwork: safety plans, daily work logs, inspection reports, and emails between the contractors. We find that every document tells part of the story, and pieced together, they often reveal a pattern of failure.
Our strategy was two-pronged: we filed the workers’ compensation claim with the BWC for immediate help, and then we filed a separate personal injury lawsuit against Buckeye Builders Inc. and the other parties who were negligent. The workers’ comp claim was the lifeline Sarah needed, covering Mark’s hospital bills and giving them some income to stay afloat. The lawsuit, on the other hand, was our shot at getting them a complete recovery. We sued for all the medical bills that workers’ comp wouldn’t touch, Mark’s total lost wages and his inability to earn a living in the future, his incredible pain and suffering, and the permanent damage to his quality of life. Sarah also had her own claim for loss of consortium, which is a legal term for the damage Mark’s injuries did to their marriage.
So how do you put a number on a life that’s been shattered? That’s one of the hardest parts of any catastrophic injury case. Mark was an active, strong guy, and now he was facing a lifetime of chronic pain and severe physical limitations. It was obvious he could never go back to the demanding physical work he had done his whole life. To prove this, we brought in vocational rehabilitation experts and economists to calculate his lost earning potential over what would have been the rest of his career, a number that quickly climbed into the millions. We also had medical experts create detailed reports on all his future care needs, from more surgeries and physical therapy to the assistive devices he’d need just to get by. These expert reports are indispensable. Without them, you can’t establish the full scope of the damages.
Of course, the defense fought back hard. Buckeye Builders Inc. tried to argue that Mark’s own employer was the only one responsible for his safety, a classic move to pass the buck. They also tried to downplay how bad Mark’s injuries were, suggesting he could go back to work much sooner than his doctors said. It’s a standard defense tactic, and you need a tough advocate to fight back against it. We hit them with clear evidence showing Buckeye Builders’ failure to keep the site safe, including testimony from some of their former employees who had warned them about trench safety on other jobs. We were also able to dig up prior OSHA citations against Buckeye Builders for the exact same kind of safety violations. When you can show a pattern of negligence like that, it’s powerful.
After nearly two years of legal battles, depositions, and fighting over expert reports, the case was scheduled for mediation at the Franklin County Courthouse. In mediation, a neutral professional helps both sides try to hash out a settlement. It’s a key step before going to trial, as it gives everyone a chance to see the strengths and weaknesses in their case without the risk and cost of a jury trial. For Mark and Sarah, the idea of a trial was terrifying. The emotional cost of having to tell the story of the accident over and over again was just massive. Our goal was to get them a fair settlement that would give them financial security and guarantee Mark could get the medical care he would always need.
The mediation was a marathon, lasting more than twelve hours. We laid out our entire case, showing a complete model of the damages and detailing every single aspect of Mark’s financial loss and personal suffering. Faced with the mountain of evidence we’d built and the real risk of a huge jury verdict against them, the defense lawyers started to budge from their ridiculously low initial offers. By the end of the night, we secured a major settlement that gave Mark and Sarah the money they needed for his future care, made up for his lost career, and finally acknowledged the pain they had been forced to endure. That settlement, on top of his ongoing workers’ compensation benefits, gave them a way to move forward.
Mark’s story teaches some hard lessons for anyone who gets hurt in a construction trench collapse injury in Columbus. First, you have to act immediately: get medical help and make sure the injury is reported. Second, know your rights under workers’ comp, but know that it’s not designed to make you whole. Third, you have to look into a potential third-party claim. These cases are difficult and expensive, demanding a lawyer who knows the specifics of construction law and has the money to fund a proper investigation. Having a lawyer who knows construction accident cases inside and out can completely change the outcome, holding all the right people accountable and getting you the compensation you deserve. Never assume your employer or their insurance company has your best interests at heart. They won’t. You need a fighter in your corner who gets how Ohio’s legal system really works and is ready to go to the mat for you.
When a trench gives way, it buries more than just a person. It buries a family’s future. You have to understand your legal options to rebuild that future and get justice.
What are the common causes of construction trench collapses?
Most trench collapses happen for a few common reasons: the company didn’t use proper protective systems (like shoring boxes or sloping the walls), they didn’t inspect the soil to see if it was stable, they were running heavy equipment too close to the edge, or they piled excavated dirt right next to the trench. OSHA has strict rules for trenches over five feet deep precisely to prevent these failures.
Can I sue my employer after a trench collapse in Ohio?
Usually, no. Ohio’s workers’ compensation system is considered an “exclusive remedy,” which means it’s your only option for getting compensation directly from your employer. The big exception is an “intentional tort.” If you can prove your employer knew for a fact that their actions would harm you or deliberately set you up to get hurt, you might be able to sue them directly. But that’s a very, very high bar to clear.
What is a third-party liability claim in a trench collapse case?
A third-party claim is a lawsuit against someone other than your direct employer who was also at fault for your injury. On a construction site, this could be the general contractor who was in charge of overall safety, another subcontractor whose crew made a mistake, the property owner, or the manufacturer of a faulty piece of safety gear. These claims are how you can recover money for things workers’ comp doesn’t cover, like your pain and suffering.
What types of compensation can I receive from a trench collapse injury claim?
From a workers’ comp claim, you’ll get your medical bills paid and a part of your lost wages. If you win a third-party personal injury lawsuit, you can get much more. This includes all your past and future medical costs, all your lost income and future lost earning ability, money for pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. If the company’s conduct was really bad, you might even get punitive damages.
How long do I have to file a trench collapse injury claim in Ohio?
The clock is ticking from the moment you get hurt. For an Ohio workers’ compensation claim, Ohio Revised Code Section 4123.84 gives you two years from the injury date to file the application with the BWC. The statute of limitations for filing a separate third-party personal injury lawsuit is also typically two years. If you miss these deadlines, you lose your right to file a claim forever, so you can’t afford to wait.
