On the day of the incident, a 36-year-old pipelayer and another worker for a water, sewer and drainage installation and repair business entered the trench to remove old pipes and install new ones. The trench had no protective system, although there was a hydraulic shoring cylinder near the bottom on one side.
The job was almost done when the victim entered the trench to nish connecting the pipes. The trench collapsed, burying him.
A 17-year-old male laborerĀ was killed and his coworkerĀ injured in a trench collapse during a job to replace a broken sewer line.
The day before the accident a trench box had been used to shore up the walls of the trench, but it had been removed at the end of the day and not put back in place. The two workers entered the unprotected trench the following day to check the depth with a grade pole and replace two sections of pipe.
December 30: a time when the days are short, the weather is less than ideal and everyoneās in a hurry to finish work and go home for the holidays. Except, one construction worker never made it home.
The accident: A crew assigned to dig a trench and install conduit dug an 8-foot-deep by two-foot-wide trench. Two crew members, who were working their first day on the job and who were not assigned to be working in the area, entered the trench. The trench collapsed, covering both workers.
The accident: An excavator operator removed a trench shield to access broken pipe. The trench wall caved in, burying two workers.
The accident: Working in the December cold, a utility construction worker was helping install a sewer line in a 25- to 30-foot-deep trench. A steel trench box was in the excavation but was not large enough to reach the bottom of the trench.
The accident: AĀ subcontractor wasĀ removing old gas,Ā storm and sanitaryĀ sewer lines on a site toĀ prepare for new utilityĀ lines. A laborer wasĀ working in an 8-foot-deepĀ trench on theĀ abandoned gas line,Ā which was a 600-foot-longĀ high pressureĀ line with a 10-inchĀ steel casingā¦
The accident: Two laborers were installing conduit in an 8-foot-deep by two-foot-wide trench. The crew leader, whoĀ was digging the trench with a backhoe, left the area to go to the company trailer. The two laborers continued to work aloneā¦
The accident: Three workers were repairing a water main break in a 7-foot-deep, 5-foot-wide excavation. To expose the water main, one worker working with a shovel at the bottom of the trench undercut the roadway.
The accident: Two laborers were installing water lines in a 9-foot-deep, 7-foot-wide trench with vertical walls. A corner of the trench collapsed, pinning one worker under a large chunk of dirt.
