Worker buried in trench cave in.
Source
NIOSH 1995 Aug; :1-4
Abstract
A 56-year-old male construction worker was fatally injured in a trench cave-in. The victim had dug the approximately 12 foot deep trench and was in the trench laying a water line. The trench was neither shored nor sloped. Backfill dirt caved in on the victim burying him under three feet of dirt. The victim was dug out by co-workers and emergency response personnel and was life flighted to a local hospital where he died five days late from the injuries he sustained. The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) investigator concluded that to prevent future similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Ensure each employee in an excavation is protected from cave-ins by an adequate protection system designed in accordance with 29 CFR 1926.652. 2. Ensure that excavations are inspected by a competent person prior to start of work and as needed throughout a shift to look for evidence of a situation that could result in possible cave-in. 3. Instruct employees on how to recognize and avoid hazardous conditions and on regulations applicable to the work environment in accordance with 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2). 4. Consider implementing a spot inspection program to ensure all employees are complying with safety requirements and develop and enforce consequences for noncompliance.
Keywords
Region-7; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Protective-measures; Personal-protective-equipment; Protective-equipment; Safety-programs; Construction; Construction-industry; Construction-workers
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement
NTIS Accession No.
PB2012-106691
Identifying No.
FACE-95NE040; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-709864
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Performing Organization
Nebraska Department of Labor
