St. Paul construction worker death leads to $8.5 million settlement

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A wrongful death lawsuit reached an $8.5 million settlement for the death of a construction worker in St. Paul dump truck accident back in 2022.

Attorneys found that the driver of the dump truck tested positive for drugs and that he tried to hide those results. 

The victim, 61-year-old Peter Michael Davis, was fatally stuck by the dump truck at a construction site in downtown St. Paul.

READ MORE: Construction worker killed in St. Paul after being hit by work truck

Wrongful death lawsuit

What they're saying:

The victim's family was represented by SiebenCarey Personal Injury Law, who shared this statement in the settlement:

"During our investigation of Peter’s tragic death on behalf of his widow Kristi Davis, we uncovered several serious failures on the part of the defendant," said Jeffrey S. Sieben, an attorney with SiebenCarey Personal Injury Law. "These included drug use by the driver of the truck, destruction of evidence, and negligence in drug testing and other safety protocols. In other words, if the rules would have been followed, Pete would still be here."

The firm also shared other contributing factors to the crash, including a spotter who was on his cell phone during the incident, a lack of training for the dump truck driver and an improperly installed backup alarm.

The dump truck driver also "tested presumptive positive for cocaine and THC after the incident and told his employer he would not pass the post-fatality drug test" according to findings in the lawsuit.   

Click here to view a fact sheet shared by the firm.

The backstory:

St. Paul police responded to the incident around 3:30 p.m. at the construction site near 7th Street West and Wabasha Street. 

First responders declared Davis dead at the scene. 

Police said at the time there was no indication of impairment on the dump truck drivers' part or criminal intent.