Travis County DA’s Office Announces Indictments Against D Guerra Construction LLC and Project Superintendent in the Death of Construction Worker
Travis County, TX — Today, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that on September 30, 2024, a Travis County grand jury indicted D Guerra Construction LLC and Carlos Alejandro Guerrero, 37, a Project Superintendent employed by D Guerra Construction LLC, for the offense of Criminal Negligent Homicide, a state jail felony.
On October 23, 2021, D Guerra Construction employees were working inside a trench to install a residential wastewater line for a new subdivision in southern Travis County. The trench collapsed, and D Guerra Construction employee Juan José Galvan Batalla, 24, was completely buried by the fallen soil and debris. Mr. Galvan Batalla succumbed to his injuries on October 30, 2021.
In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) referred this case to our office after concluding their investigation and citing the company for various workplace violations.
“All workers in Travis County deserve to be safe at work so they can return to their families at the end of the day,” stated Travis County District Attorney José Garza. ” When employers engage in criminal conduct and expose their employees to hazardous working conditions, this office will hold them accountable. Our hearts continue to break for the Galvan Batalla family.”
“Despite a partial trench collapse earlier in the day, D Guerra Construction LLC recklessly sent employees back into the excavation without protective measures to prevent another cave-in. The loss of this worker’s life was preventable,” explained OSHA Regional Administrator Eric Harbin in Dallas. “We appreciate the work of the Travis County District Attorney’s office for seeking accountability for those responsible, and the Labor Department will continue to work closely with local prosecutors to bring justice to employers who fail to protect their employees.”
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office’s Public Integrity & Complex Crimes Division’s Economic Justice Enforcement Initiative is prosecuting the case against the defendant and corporate defendant. The case against the company remains in the 167th Judicial Court, and the case against Mr. Guerrero remains in the 299th Judicial Court for Travis County.
This is the first indictment of this administration of a corporate entity for unsafe working conditions.
In 2021, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office launched the Economic Justice Enforcement Initiative to dedicate additional resources to prosecuting wage theft and other work-related crimes.
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