A 56-year-old man was fatally injured in a New York construction accident the
morning of Nov. 28 after a trench caved in at the worksite. According to news reports, the construction accident occurred at a worksite on Bellaqua Estates Drive in Chili, New York. According to police, workers for a private company were digging a trench to access an underground sewer when it caved in, killing the worker.
First responders tried to rescue the trapped victim, but were unsuccessful. Rescue personnel who were involved in the recovery operation said the trench was at least 15 feet deep. The body of the worker was recovered. He had died from traumatic injuries. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating this fatal construction accident. We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s family. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Why Trench Cave-ins Are Dangerous
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all trenches and excavation sites at a depth of 5 feet or more be protected against sidewall collapses. Protection may be provided through shoring of trench walls, sloping of the soil at a shallow angle or by using a protective trench box.
According to a recent report, excavation violations were the sixth-leading cause of citations issued at construction sites by the OSHA. Of those violations, failing to provide trench protection was the leading cause for an excavation citation. In fact, failing to protect a trench from collapse accounted for 805, or 67% of the 1,173 citations for serious excavation violations that OSHA issued between Oct. 1, 2018 and Sept. 30, 2019.
What Causes Trenching Accidents?
Here are some of the most common causes of trench cave-ins at construction sites:
Soil instability: It is important that proper soil testing is done before commencing a project. Such testing to determine the stability of the soil at the excavation site should also be done at various times throughout the project to ensure that the soil will be stable enough to support the work safely.
Improper sloping: When the trench is not properly sloped, it significantly increases the risk of instability and the potential for collapse.
Flooding: Any water flooding an excavation site will cause the floor to become unstable and the walls to collapse. This is why it is critical to monitor the weather for the duration of the project. Workers should be out of the trench if there is a risk or possibility of flooding.
Protecting Workers
There are a number of steps that should be taken to keep workers safe as they carry out trenching or excavation work in construction sites. For example, sloping, where the trench wall is cut back at an angle to create a slope, and benching, which creates steps to travel up and down the trench wall, can be used to prevent deadly cave-ins.
Trenches also need support systems or “shoring” so they don’t cave in. A support system made of timber, mechanical parts or other systems can help keep the earth in place and provide another layer of protection that is necessary to prevent a collapse. Trench shields or trench boxes can protect the worker, should a cave-in occur.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Injured construction workers can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employers to cover medical expenses and a portion of lost wages. In addition, they can file a third-party claim against an entity or entities for substantial money damages and thus have two sources of compensation. Third-party claims are filed against an entity/entities (other than the employer and co-employees) who may have caused or contributed to the incident and the resulting injuries. Examples of third parties include some general contractors, sub-contractors, property owners, manufacturers of defective products, etc.
If you have suffered injuries in a construction-related accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job — one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, 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.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://www.rochesterfirst.com/community/he-was-absolutely-wonderful-fatal-construction-accident-in-chili-shakes-community/