Wrongful death alleged in trenching accident that killed two workers

DENVER — Attorneys for the widows of two excavation workers killed in a trench collapse accident in Windsor April 16, 2019, have filed suit against numerous governments and emergency service operations in connection with the deaths.

The suits, filed April 14 in Denver District Court, allege that the responding agencies failed to provide adequate rescue procedures “in accordance with standards of care” for such situations, and as a result the two men died unnecessarily.

The court cases stem from a construction accident at 925 Camberly Drive in Windsor in which Backhoe Excavation Inc. of Firestone was trenching on the site. Jorge Baez Valadez, 41, of Denver and Christopher Lee Ramirez, 26, of Boulder died after being buried in the trench.

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Valadez was completely buried, and Ramirez was buried with his head and arms above the ground. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Backhoe Excavation $31,446 in October 2019.

The Ramirez suit says that he was alive but incapacitated and that emergency crews did not provide intravenous saline, other medications or first aid for five hours after the collapse.  

The Valadez case alleges that he could have been saved if emergency crews had extricated him in a more timely manner.

Defendants in the cases are the town of Windsor, Windsor Police Department, Windsor Severance Fire Rescue, Weld County, Weld County Regional Communications Center, Larimer County, Loveland Fire Rescue Authority, Platte Valley Fire Protection District, Poudre Fire Authority, Greeley Fire Department, Front Range Fire Rescue and UCHealth.

Ian McCargar, town attorney for Windsor, and Bruce Barker, Weld County attorney, said they were not able to comment on the cases.

“To my knowledge, the town hasn’t been served, and even if it had been served, I’d have to review it. I’m at a complete loss,” McCargar said. Barker also said the county had yet to be served.

Other defendants in the cases did not respond to requests for comment.

The suits seek damages to be determined at trial, along with court costs.