Inspection Detail

Inspection: 127381986 - Harford County Department Of Public Works

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 and three coworkers, all of the Hartford Department of Public Works, were in a 19 ft wide by 13 ft 9 in. deep excavation, standing on wire baskets filled with gabion rocks. The excavation was set in previously disturbed soil with clay atop a sand barge, and the walls were nearly vertical. Employee #1 and his coworkers were tying together the 1 ft by 3 ft by 6 ft baskets, and placing them on top of 3 ft by 3 ft by 6 ft baskets. After inspecting the excavation wall and finding no cracks, Employee #1 asked a coworker to watch the wall while he stepped off his gabion basket to tie together the two layers of baskets. He was in the excavation when a portion of the wall broke off without warning. The crew chief shouted for Employee #1 to get out. He attempted to climb back onto the gabion baskets, but the mass of dirt fell on him and pinned him against the baskets. Employee #1 was buried to his waist, and sustained an impact laceration above his eye and a fractured hip. He was flown to the Shock Trauma unit for treatment.

Keywords: EXCAVATION, FRACTURE, PINNED, WORK RULES, LACERATION, UNSTABLE SOIL, SLOPING, BURIED, CAVE-IN, HIP