Abstract: Employee #1 and a coworker were working for Sunny Slope Trees, a tree nursery involved in the growing and planting of retail and wholesale trees, plants, and shrubs. They were cleaning and clearing soil from around a tree box that had been excavated down approximately 5 1/2 ft. During this activity, they used shovels to place soil overhead, approximately 4 ft above grade. The spoil pile above Employee #1 started to fall back into the excavation. While he was trying to avoid it, he hit his head on the wooden tree box, fracturing his skull. Employee #1 was extracted by his coworker and the site foreman, and was taken to Redlands Community Hospital. The employer did not provide protection against excavated soil falling or rolling into the trench. In addition, the employer did not retain soil spoils at least 2 ft from the edge of the excavation.