Contractor Cited for Fatal Trench Collapse Accident

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a contractor in connection with a fatal construction site accident involving a trench collapse. According to an article in the Forsyth News, the fatal construction accident that occurred in February was a direct result of the contractor’s failure to provide safe work conditions. The penalties totaling $116,200 include a willful violation of failing to provide cave-in protection for workers. The workers in the trench were also not given a ladder or any safe means of exit from the trench. A 20-year-old man was killed in the cave-in. In this case, OSHA noted that if the company had done a better job of following standard safety procedures, the accident might have never happened.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 350 workers were killed in trenching or excavation cave-ins between the years 2000 to 2009. This means about 35 workers are killed every year in trench cave-in accidents. OSHA statistics from 1997 to 2001 show that 64 percent of all fatal trench accidents occur at depths of less than 10 feet. This is strong evidence that a trench does not have to be deep to be hazardous.
It is crucial that proper supports are used during an excavation at a construction site. Whenever the soil is soft or wet or heavy machinery is being operated near the trench, there is the potential for a collapse. Contractors are required to train their employees to safely create and secure a trench, and there must be a competent supervisor on site to ensure that safety procedures are being followed. The soil must be tested, exit routes must be set in place, and the walls of the trench must be adequately secured.
The experienced New York personal attorneys at The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm have a lengthy track record of representing construction workers and their families. Our hearts go out to every worker who has been injured in a construction site accident. Our deepest sympathies are with those who have lost loved ones as a result of construction accidents. Many of these incidents are entirely preventable.
If you would like to obtain more information about pursuing your rights, please call our offices at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496) for a free consultation. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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