Abstract: At approximately 10:15 a.m. on July 29, 2000, Employee #1, of Deck King Waterproofing, Inc., was in the east end of a 3 ft wide by 8 ft deep by 27 ft long trench. He was digging with a pick and shovel while a coworker did the same on the west end of the trench. Two other coworkers were at the top of the trench removing dirt with shovels. Approximately 10 minutes after the coworker exited the trench, the east end of the excavation collapsed on Employee #1, burying him to his neck. The coworker and a colleague quickly entered the trench and began to dig him out. A third coworker called 911. The fire department arrived at approximately 11:00 a.m. and were able to extricate Employee #1 after about after 2 1/2 hours. He was transported to Martin Luther King Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries to his right leg and the released. Subsequent investigation revealed that the trench had no cave-in protection, such as shoring, sloping, or benching. In addition, there was nothing to prevent the soil piles on the surface from rolling back into the trench.