Washington prosecutors have filed manslaughter charges against the owner of a construction company after an employee was killed while working in a trench at a job site.
The charges mark the first time an employer in the state has faced felony charges for a workplace fatality, according to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.
Phillip Numrich, owner of Alki Construction, was charged Jan. 5 with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Alki employee Harold Felton. The prosecution alleged that Numrich’s “criminal negligence” caused Felton’s death, according to Mindy Young