Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 171054075 - Employee drowns when pipe ruptures after trench cave-in
| Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 126756287 | 03/07/1996 | 1623 | 0 | Whitaker Const Co |
Abstract: Employee #1, age 19, and a coworker were in a 10 ft square by 10 ft high trench box, making a pipe connection in a 14 ft deep excavation in the outside barrow of a highway. Adjacent to their trench box was a trench shield designed to prevent the road from caving in, and on the other side of the box the trench was sloped away. The box also had a 4 ft section stacked on top of it. This meant the two men had 14 ft of vertical shield on three sides, with the fourth side sloped back. Employee #1 and his coworker planned to run their pipe underneath an existing 6 in. water line made of an asbestos composite called transite. The soil in the trench was moist when the two men started to work. A small section of the sloped trench wall gave way and slid into the trench box. It struck Employee #1 in the back of the legs and knocked him down. His coworker was attempting to extricate him when the transite water pipe ruptured. Employee #1 drowned.
| Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 126756287 | Fatality | Other | Construction laborers |
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