OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14382097
TRENCH BOX,COLLAPSE,CONSTRUCTION,TRENCH,SHORING,STRUCK BY,SLOPING,CAVE-IN,UNTRAINED
Event description
EMPLOYEE KILLED IN TRENCH COLLAPSE
Investigation abstract
AT 8:30 AM ON JANUARY 21, 1987, EMPLOYEE #1, A LABORER, WAS SETTING SEWER PIPE I HE BODY WAS UNCOVERED (AFTER 5 HOURS), IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE PRY BAR THE EM PLOYEE HAD BEEN USING TO ALIGN THE PIPE SECTIONS HAD STRUCK HIS LOWER JAW. THE T RAUMA FROM THAT BLOW WAS THE APPARENT CAUSE OF DEATH. CITATIONS WERE RECOMMENDED FOR NOT SLOPING OR SHORING (OR PROVIDING EQIVALENT PROTECTION), A LACK OF TRAIN ING AND A DEFECTIVE TRENCH BOX. N A TRENCH. THE TRENCH WAS APPROXIMATELY 14 FEET DEEP, 4 FEET WIDE AT THE BOTTOM AND 10 FEET WIDE AT THE TOP. THE EMPLOYEE WOULD UNHOOK THE SEWER PIPE AFTER IT HAD BEEN LOWERED INTO THE TRENCH, LEVEL AND ALIGN IT. AS HE FINISHED THE FOURTH SECTION OF PIPE AND PREPARED TO LEAVE THE TRENCH THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE TRENCH WA LL COLLAPSED ONTO HIM. OTHER EMPLOYEES MANAGED TO CLEAR HIS HEAD BY THE TIME THE PARAMEDICS ARRIVED. WHEN THE PARAMEDICS AND FIREMEN ARRIVED THE OTHER EMPLOYEES WERE PULLED FROM THE SITE FOR INTERVIEWS. DURING THE RECOVERY OPERATION THE TRE NCH COLLAPSED TWICE MORE, EVEN THOUGH PARTIAL SHORING HAD BEEN INSTALLED. WHEN T
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 31 M
- Nature of injury
- 18
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 22
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 13
- Task assigned
- 1
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