OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14255038
T. A. LOVING COMPANY
WILMINGTON, NC·
Event description
Employee killed in trench cave-in
Investigation abstract
The employer was installing a sanitary sewer system in a residential development . Employees were laying 8 in. diameter ductile iron pipe in the approximately 20 ft deep trench. An 8 ft high trench box was in use and the trench face above th e box had an approximately 1 1/2:1 slope. The soil had a high moisture content d ue to recent rains. Pressure from the spoil pile caused the sloped trench face t o give way and slide into the trench box, where Employee #1 was located. He was killed. Additional precautions that are required when soil has a high moisture c ontent were not taken. The trench was also located near a recently backfilled tr ench, which requires special precautions that were not taken.
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 68 Male
- Nature of injury
- Asphyxia (2)
- Part of body
- BODYSYSTEM (4)
- Accident type
- STRUCK BY (1)
- Source of injury
- DIRT/SAND/STONE (12)
- Occupation
- Construction trades, n.e.c. (599)
- Human factor
- MISJUDGMENT, HAZ. SITUATION (1)
- Environmental factor
- OTHER (18)
- 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.