When your loved one works construction, you expect that they’ll come home dirty and tired. You may even expect that, at some point, they may even get injured on the job. What you don’t expect is to get a phone call telling you that your son or husband has been killed in what was, essentially, a plumbing job. Sadly, this is what happened this week in Dalton, Georgia.
42-year old Frank “Trey” Thompson, II, of Dalton, Georgia, worked for a company called DR Mozeley. They handled larger plumbing and construction jobs in Georgia. They also handled projects in other states, such as North Carolina. This week, Thompson was working with three other construction workers on a project in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Thompson and his coworkers were working on a trench ear TW Alexander Drive and Glenwood Avenue. For some reason, there were no trench barriers in place. Nor were there ground pads or shoring set up. This meant that, when the trench collapsed, the 4 workers were trapped underneath.
While 3 of the workers got out, the 4th man did not. This man was Frank “Trey” Thompson, III. He was killed after the trench collapsed.
His employer said that, the very morning that the trench collapsed, they had contracted some of the work out to a company called J Squared Plumbing. However, the job was only supposed to involve the digging of a three foot well, not a giant trench.
The North Carolina Department of Labor is still investigating the accident. The family of the victim will certainly need an attorney to help determine all of the parties at fault here. They will surely have a potential wrongful death claim against one or both of the construction companies.
If your loved one is hurt or killed, call our workers’ comp lawyers right away.
