OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #670141
FRACTURE,CONSTRUCTION,TRENCH,SHORING,ARM,SLOPING,BURIED,CAVE-IN,SPRAIN,ANKLE
Event description
CONSTRUCTION WORKER INJURED IN TRENCH CAVE-IN
Investigation abstract
ON MAY 23, 1988, EMPLOYEE #1, A LABORER, AND A BACKHOE OPERATOR WERE DIGGING A T ALLY WORKING IN THE TRENCH. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE TRENCH WAS APPROXIM ATELY 14 FEET LONG, 10 FEET DEEP AND 2 FEET WIDE AT THE BOTTOM. THE TRENCH WAS S LIGHTLY SLOPED AT ABOUT 2 FEET HORIZONTALLY FOR A 10 FOOT VERTICAL RISE. A FACTO R IN THE CAVE-IN WAS THE FACT THAT THE SOIL AT THE CAVE-IN SITE HAD BEEN PREVIOU SLY DISTURBED AND WAS WET FROM RAIN. RENCH TO TIE INTO A 6 INCH VENT PIPE. THE BACKHOE OPERATOR STRUCK AN OBJECT IN T HE TRENCH AT A DEPTH OF ABOUT 10 FEET. EMPLOYEE #1 ENTERED THE TRENCH WITH A SHO VEL TO SEE IF THE OBJECT THAT WAS STRUCK WAS THE VENT PIPE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO LOCATE AND TIE INTO. MOMENTS AFTER ENTERING THE TRENCH, ONE WALL CAVED IN AN D COVERED HIM FROM THE NECK DOWN. THE BACKHOE OPERATOR AND SOME OTHER EMPLOYEES WHO HAD BEEN WORKING NEARBY DUG HIM OUT WITH SHOVELS. EMPLOYEE #1 SUFFERED A BRO KEN ARM AND A SPRAINED ANKLE. ACCORDING TO EMPLOYEE #1 AND THE BACKHOE OPERATOR, THEY HAD PLANNED ON USING A TRENCH BOX, SHORING OR ADEQUATE SLOPING BEFORE ACTU
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 40 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 17
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 12
- Occupation code
- 869
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 13
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.