OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14527857
D & C CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. DIV. OF DEVINEY
HATTIESBURG, MS·
Event description
EMPLOYEE ASPHYXIATED IN TRENCH CAVE IN
Investigation abstract
Two employees were laying 6.1-meter-long lengths of 102-millimeter-diameter PVC een covered for 1 hour and 20 minutes, died of asphyxiation. The second employee sustained minor injuries. pipe in a trench that was 0.6 meters wide and 3.0 meters deep. The employees had not shored or sloped the trench. The pipe was to serve as conduit for communica tions cable. At one point in the trench, the conduit came out a manhole, with co nnection points that were 4.4 meters below ground. One employee was working 6.1 meters south of the manhole, and the second employee was 9.1 meters south of man hole. Vibrations from street traffic and the load from 34.6 metric tons of soil caused the west wall of trench to collapse, completely burying the first employe e and burying the second employee up to his chest. The first employee, who had b
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 41 Male
- Nature of injury
- Asphyxia (2)
- Part of body
- BODYSYSTEM (4)
- Accident type
- CAUGHT IN OR BETWEEN (2)
- Source of injury
- DIRT/SAND/STONE (12)
- Occupation
- Occupation not reported (999)
- Human factor
- INSUFF/LACK/ENGINEERNG CONTROLS (17)
- Environmental factor
- OVERHEAD MOVING/FALLING OBJ AC (6)
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
-
#2 Non-hospitalized injury Age 29 Male
- Nature of injury
- Bruise/Contus/Abras (3)
- Part of body
- BODYSYSTEM (4)
- Accident type
- CAUGHT IN OR BETWEEN (2)
- Source of injury
- DIRT/SAND/STONE (12)
- Occupation
- Occupation not reported (999)
- Human factor
- INSUFF/LACK/ENGINEERNG CONTROLS (17)
- Environmental factor
- OVERHEAD MOVING/FALLING OBJ AC (6)
- 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.