Construction Injury Narrative: Laborer Partially Buried When Trench Wall Collapses [2020]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 30-year-old laborer was seriously injured when a sidewall of the trench he was working in collapsed, partially burying him. The laborer had worked in the construction industry for 12 years. He had received trenching training from his employer, a construction contractor, and had experience working in trenches. The laborer and a coworker, who was also the site competent person, were working at a residential site to install a new side sewer line. To access the line, they used excavators to dig a 25-foot-long by four-foot-wide trench. The trench depth varied from five feet to six and a half feet. They did not use a trench protective system, which is required at depths of four feet or more in Washington State. The laborer had been hand digging in the unprotected trench for two hours to expose a water main. As he was doing this, a section of the trench sidewall collapsed. He was buried in soil from his waist down. The coworker entered the trench and attempted to rescue him, but was unable to. He then used an excavator to dig out soil from around the laborer. The excavator's bucket struck and ruptured a water main, causing the trench to start filling. As the trench rapidly filled with water, bystanders responded. From the side of the trench, they held the laborer's head above the rising water while the coworker used the excavator to dig a side trench to drain the water. First responders arrived and after 30 minutes freed the laborer. He suffered pelvic fractures and internal injuries. Investigators found: 1) The trench was not protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system. 2) Spoil piles three feet high of type C soil were placed within two feet of the trench edge. 3) Spoil piles were positioned on the uphill side of the trench creating a surcharge towards the trench opening. 4) It is possible that the excavators created vibration in the ground and caused the trench side to sluff. 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
  • Trenching
  • 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:20060013
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-196-2020, 2020 Jun; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: contractor struck by falling wall section
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229003/cdc_229003_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 326.48 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e119743b1b6a8eb93019d98f4ce8dd8f754afb89600a538157b3ed1fae81cdc72664a6b71c2b9404343897169aed5645aee90ee47303a9e597ec37f1f42c375c