Fatality Narrative: Construction Laborer Killed When Trench Collapses

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On September 25, 2003, a laborer was working in a 7 foot 6 inch deep trench that had not been shielded, sloped or shored. The victim was attempting to find a sewer main when the trench failed and he was engulfed by soil. The 29-year-old laborer was employed by a subcontractor to install and tie in, two side sewers, to an existing sewer main at a new multi-use apartment/retail complex. The owner of the company was operating a backhoe and had dug a 7 foot 6 inch deep trench in order to locate the existing sewer main. Due to a high water table the trench had begun to fill with water. Workers were draining the trench using a pump. The victim entered the unprotected trench by climbing down a ladder. He was using a steel bar to poke at the side of the trench to locate the sewer main when the walls began to fail. The victim started to climb the ladder but was hit in the back by dirt and knocked to the bottom of the trench where he was partially engulfed by soil. The company owner and an employee attempted to dig out the victim without success. A fire department emergency response team arrived at the scene and attempted to rescue and resuscitate the unresponsive victim. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim died of blunt force injury to the head. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Construction Industry
  • Construction Materials
  • Education
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Workers
  • Work environment
  • Construction
  • Construction equipment
  • Construction materials
  • Construction workers
  • Trenches
  • Trenching
  • Excavations
  • Soil mechanics
  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:20051866
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-26-2004, 2004 Oct; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: construction laborer killed when trench collapses
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228847/cdc_228847_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 22.45 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3fdc509be353b25114827e92b3a3d9c448bf24727a7a4ea3a4f1b521d8c61e894b600a6a4375526ad57b7e6c4546cd934f9cf86b7042cce0e2696e23411dbf7b