Parents of man killed in Jefferson City construction accident file lawsuit

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The parents of a man killed in a retaining wall collapse last year at a Jefferson City construction site are suing contractors and the property owner.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Cole County, claims that negligence on behalf of property owner F&F Development, LLC, construction contractor Horizon Company, LLC, and foreman Kyle Rimel led to Jacob Schrimpf's death. Schrimpf was working on a retaining wall for Schrimpf Landscaping when the wall collapsed and crushed him to death on Jan 28, 2020.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Schrimpf Landscaping for the incident last year.

In their lawsuit, Schrimpf's parents say the defendants failed to take proper precautions when building the retaining wall, stacking too many stone blocks on top of each other without putting in backfill. The way the wall was built caused a dangerous situation when Schrimpf got behind the wall to put in backfill, the lawsuit claims.

Actions by F&F and Horizon led to dangerous conditions at the work site leading to Schrimpf's death, according to the lawsuit. The landscaping subcontractor did not have the proper skills or expertise to work on such a retaining wall, the suit argues.

The lawsuit also claims the foreman, Rimel, knew the dangers of stacking too many retaining wall blocks without backfill but ordered Schrimpf to work in an "unsafe and unstable" area, regardless.

The parents are demanding a jury trial and damages. No hearings have been scheduled.

No attorney was listed for the defendants in online court records.