OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14253090
THE MAZZA CONSTRUCTION GROUP, INC.
BURLINGTON, NC·
Event description
Employee injured in trench cave-in
Investigation abstract
On March 1, 1989, workers were laying a 12 in. ductile iron water main in a tren ped before he reached safety. He was covered to his hips, with a piece of cement ed soil, or pavement, against his hip. Employee #1 suffered a fractured pelvis a nd a torn urethra. The coworker reported that he was struck by soil, but escaped injury. ch 5 to 5 1/2 ft deep, in the roadway of a paved road. The backhoe had just fini shed digging and was preparing to hoist the next pipe joint. A small compactor w as in the trench, compacting soil over the last two lengths of pipe laid. The tr ench was parallel to an existing sewer line. Employee #1 and a coworker were in the trench preparing to lay a third pipe. Employee #1, a pipelayer, was using a shovel to level grade the trench bottom. At about 9:30 a.m., soil fell from unde r pavement along the west wall of the trench (the sewer line side). Employee #1 saw it coming and ran in the direction of the previously laid pipe, but was trap
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 37 Male
- Nature of injury
- Fracture (12)
- Part of body
- HIP(S) (14)
- Accident type
- STRUCK BY (1)
- Source of injury
- DIRT/SAND/STONE (12)
- Occupation
- Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (585)
- Human factor
- INSUFF/LACK/ENGINEERNG CONTROLS (17)
- Environmental factor
- SQUEEZE POINT ACTION (4)
- Hazardous substance
- 8880
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.