Abstract: At approximately 8:30 a.m., on July 9, 2001, Employee #1 was pulling a cart with electrical supplies at a construction job site. Another worker was assisting Employee #1 by pushing the cart. There was a short trench in the area 30 ft or more from the building being worked on. The trench varied in depth from 0 ft to 5 or 6 ft. The trench bottom sloped from the deep end to the 0-ft end. The cart was between the building and the trench being moved about parallel to the trench. The tongue used for pulling the cart was approximately 7 ft long. The cart got stuck in dirt approximately 5 ft from the trench. The end of the tongue of the cart whipped toward the trench. Employee #1 slipped or fell onto the soft dirt at the bottom of the 4-ft by 5-ft section of the trench. He exited the trench unassisted. Employee #1 was seen by his doctor who previously had in the past had treated the employee for a back problem.