Fatality Narrative: Helper Killed When Trench Collapses

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On October 21, 2004, the wife of an excavation company owner was killed when an unprotected trench collapsed. The 41-year-old victim was helping her husband and others in his work crew with the excavation of a trench. The trench was being dug by an excavator in order to install a sewer line to a new house. The trench was about 8 to 10 feet deep and 3 to 4 feet wide. The victim was using a grade stick to take measurements in the unprotected trench. It is unclear whether the victim was standing on top of the trench or had entered it, when a portion of the trench wall collapsed and buried her up to her neck in wet soil. Unsuccessful attempts to free the victim were made by the work crew and then by emergency responders. She died at the scene from mechanical asphyxia. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Education
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
  • Workplace
• Keywords:
  • Workers
  • Work environment
  • Trenches
  • Trenching
  • Excavations
  • Excavation equipment
  • Risk assessment
  • Protective equipment
  • Protective measures
  • Hazards
  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051775
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-43-2006, 2006 Jan; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: helper killed when trench collapses
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228830/cdc_228830_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 32.15 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:193687813ab72c86127f4b01014f9d5086cb6cb72e7b48e86e4789857a839b9d8d9d6ce83af417ba30e4283a95a3840e2985fd545d71a324795d8b43091152c3