Bonebright v. City of Miller

• Decision Date: 18 March 2020
• Docket Number: #28994, #29001
• Parties: Stephanie BONEBRIGHT, Claimant and Appellee, v. CITY OF MILLER and SDML Workers’ Compensation Fund, Employer, Provider and Appellants.
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

941 N.W.2d 231

Stephanie BONEBRIGHT, Claimant and Appellee,
v.
CITY OF MILLER and SDML Workers’ Compensation Fund, Employer, Provider and Appellants.

#28994, #29001

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

CONSIDERED ON BRIEFS FEBRUARY 12, 2020
OPINION FILED March 18, 2020

LEE SCHOENBECK, JOSEPH ERICKSON of Schoenbeck Law, P.C., Watertown, South Dakota, Attorneys for claimant and appellee.

LAURA K. HENSLEY of Boyce Law Firm, LLP, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Attorneys for employer, provider and appellants.

SALTER, Justice

¶1.] James Bonebright died from injuries he sustained in a work-related accident while he was employed with the City of Miller. The City and the South Dakota Municipal League Workers’ Compensation Fund denied workers’ compensation liability, claiming that Bonebright had engaged in willful misconduct. The Department of Labor agreed, although it awarded benefits to Bonebright’s widow after concluding his alleged willful misconduct was not a proximate cause of his death. The circuit court affirmed the Department’s decision to award benefits, but did so because it determined that Bonebright had not engaged in willful misconduct. We affirm.

Background

[¶2.] James Bonebright began his employment with the City of Miller (the City) in 1987, working for the water department. In 2003, he was promoted to superintendent of the water department. His predecessor, Bill Lewellen, remained with the

[941 N.W.2d 233

City and became the superintendent of the electrical department. Bonebright’s position description stated that he "[w]ork[ed] under the general supervision of the city council utility committee and city council." The organizational structure for the City further indicated that Bonebright, as a department head, reported to the council members, the council vice-president, the council president, and the mayor.

¶3.] Bonebright’s position description charged him with the responsibility to "[o]versee[ ] the safety of assigned maintenance workers and equipment operators by instructing individuals in proper safety procedures and monitoring work in progress." As is relevant to this appeal, the City’s safety handbook specifically addressed safety rules and procedures for working in an excavated trench and required workers to "always ensure that the proper shoring system is in place before anyone enters the excavation." Although Bonebright previously acknowledged the existence of the safety handbook, there was conflicting testimony as to whether all employees and city council members were aware of the safety handbook.¹

[¶4.] In any event, the City’s safety rules require its employees to secure a trench deeper than 48 inches either by using the City’s trench box² or through a process of sloping³ the sides of the trench. The City purchased its trench box in the late 1990s at Bonebright’s request after a previous trench collapse during which he and another employee narrowly averted injury. However, several employees testified that they used the trench box only once in the succeeding years. Instead, their practice had been to slope the trenches or, sometimes, do nothing to secure the trench. This practice—sloping or doing nothing—occurred during the tenures of both Lewellen and Bonebright as water department superintendent. The City’s mayor, Ron Blachford, and Tony Rangel, president of the city council and utilities committee member, testified that they were aware of the practice. However, the evidence before the Department established that the City never reprimanded its employees for not following proper trench excavation safety procedures.⁴

[¶5.] During the week of July 4-8, 2016, Bonebright was working with city employees, including Terry Manning and Lewellen, to install a new underground water main and tap. The project had been contemplated since the late 1990s, but it became necessary in 2016 because the existing system did not allow the City to shut water service off to a non-paying customer without affecting other customers. To accomplish the work, the city employees were replacing sections of pipe that were 13 and 20 feet long in an excavated trench that was approximately seven feet deep.

[¶6.] On the fateful afternoon of July 8, 2016, Bonebright and his crew were close to completing the project and needed to install one final section of pipe. Bonebright had decided not to use either the trench

[941 N.W.2d 234

box or sloping to shore the sides of the trench.⁵ Manning expressed concern about the safety of the trench, as did Rangel, who was on hand at the project site. To avoid going into the unsecured trench, Bonebright and Manning decided to use straps to lower the pipe into position. Before they could rig the straps, however, some dirt fell on the pipe, and Bonebright went into the trench to shovel the dirt away. The trench partially collapsed, burying Bonebright’s legs and knocking him over. Manning jumped in to...