Split Court Issues Writ for Worker to Receive VSSR Award for Trench Accident

An Ohio appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted an enhanced award of benefits for his employer’s violation of a specific safety requirement for shoring trenches. Curtis Berry worked as a pipelayer for Undergound Utilities Inc. On July 24, 2017, Berry was part of a crew installing a water line. A large excavator created the trench. The excavator had driven over a section of asphalt along the roadway while digging the trench, which was about 3.5 feet deep. Berry was near the excavator, which was sitting idle, locating other utility lines in the trench, when a l...