Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 201084696 - Employee Is Injured in an Excavation Cave-in

Accident Summary Nr: 201084696 -- Report ID: 0950625 -- Event Date: 09/15/2003
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
301129474	09/15/2003	1521	236115	Central Valley Residential Builders Lp

Abstract: On September 15, 2003, Employee #1, a supervising employee of the general contractor Central Valley Residential Builders LC., entered an 8 ft by 30 ft by 13 ft trench created in sandy soil with a backhoe by a subcontractor from K&J Plumbing to locate a sewer lateral line at the Fallbrook Homes subdivisions located in Clovis, California. After Employee #1 entered the trench, the vertical wall of the excavation collapsed, burying Employee #1 to his waist. Clovis Fire Rescue and Police used a "vacuum truck" to remove Employee #1 in a two-hour rescue operation. Employee #1 was treated at a local hospital for minor body compression injuries and released. Upon investigation, the trench was learned to have been created to locate a sewer, not for employee entrance. The operator stated he saw Employee #1 enter the trench. He alerted Employee #1 that the trench was unsafe and ordered him to immediately get out.

Keywords: EXCAVATION, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, BURIED, CAVE-IN

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		New project or new addition		$5,000,000 to $20,000,000		13

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	301129474			Non Hospitalized injury	Other	Construction inspectors	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Excavation Fatality Cause: Trench collapse

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