The Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation determined KRW Plumbing broke safety laws that resulted in a fatal trench collapse three years ago.

James B. Rogers, 33, died June 15, 2016, when he was buried alive after a nearly 11-foot trench collapsed while he was trying to install a sewer pipe during the construction of a residence.

Rogers was working for the Jamestown, Ohio contractor, which had a trench collapse a month earlier at another job site, according to OSHA records.

It took more than seven hours to recover Rogers’ body. Rogers had posted about a similarly deep trench on Facebook a few weeks before his death when he wrote, “”Never again ant (sic) worth it.”

A staff hearing officer awarded Rogers’ widow, Stefanie, 50 percent of the maximum weekly compensation rate allowed by law, according to the record.

“This ruling means a lot to the family,” Craig Matthews, attorney for Tara Brown, Rogers’ sister who brought a civil lawsuit on behalf of Rogers’ estate, told the Dayton Daily News. “They believed from the onset that something had been done wrong and were relieved that the government investigation confirmed that. A trench box should have been in place. If it had been, James would be alive today.”

More details here.