Employer sentenced in 2016 construction worker death

A Seattle-area construction company owner is facing time behind bars after a trench collapsed and killed one of his workers. Prosecutors believe it's the first time an employer is being held criminally responsible for an on-the-job death.

In what the state’s Labor and Industries Department is calling a “milestone case,” Alki Construction Owner Phillip Numrich was sentenced in early March to 45 days in jail.

“It’s extremely rare for a business owner to be held criminally accountable,” Washington Department of Labor and Industries Spokesperson Matt Ross stated.

The investigation found Numrich didn’t have safety measures in place before a trench collapse killed one of his workers, Harold Felton, in West Seattle more than six years ago, Ross added.

“After days and days of rain, had workers digging in an eight-to-10-foot trench where the soil was soaked and loose,” Ross said.

Court records state Numrich appealed an initial fine, then filed a motion to dismiss the state's criminal charge for manslaughter, stating he believed Violation of Labor Safety Regulation with Death Resulting was more specific. But, the state supreme court last year found the state could prosecute an employer for manslaughter when an employer's violation of a safety regulation led to a worker's death, the documents stated.

“We worked with the victim’s family and walked through what we thought would possibly happen at a jury trial and how that would go,” said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

A prosecutor's office spokesperson said the office and the family of 36-year-old Felton settled on the plea agreement, and Numrich plead guilty earlier this year to attempted reckless endangerment.

“Initially this case was charged as manslaughter,” McNerthney said. “After consulted with them, explained that we thought this was the best possible outcome to get this conviction.”

“No amount of time in jail and no amount of money or fine can make up for the loss of a loved one,” Ross said.

Officials said they are expecting more criminal cases like this one and hope this sentence sends a message to other employers moving forward.

“You can’t recklessly and negligently put your workers in danger or you could face prosecution and conviction, just as we saw in this case,” McNerthney said.

Alki Construction was also fined $25,000 in addition to another fine from the Department of Labor and Industries. KOMO was unable to get ahold of Felton's family or Alki Construction for a statement Sunday.