Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 201173739 - Employee killed in excavation collapse
| Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120350855 | 07/17/2003 | 1623 | 237110 | Gateway Pacific Contractors Inc |
Abstract: At approximately 2:10 p.m. on July 17, 2003, Employee #1, a laborer, was working at the Roseville Water Treatment Plant (the Plant) on the Plant's expansion project. The Plant was adding a water treatment plant reservoir (6 Million Gallons). This expansion requires installation and expansion of the existing under-ground water lines. Employee #1 and a coworker, a backhoe operator, were excavating around a 66 in. diameter water pipe. They were attempting to locate the 66 in. pipe (pot- holeing) to determine its location for future connections and expansion of the water line. As the coworker was dumping a bucket of soil in the spoils pile, the employee entered the unprotected excavation and was standing in the deepest section of it. While standing in the 8 ft deep section of the excavation the north-east wall of the pot-holed excavation collapsed. The soil collapsed onto Employee #1 pushing him against the north west wall of the excavation. The coworker jumped into the excavation in an attempt to rescue Employee #1 but was unsuccessful so the coworker left to get help from others. A rescue attempt was made but Employee #1 died at the scene. Employee #1 died from a massive head trauma that was caused when a large chunk of the collapsed excavation hit him in the head. The employee was not wearing a hard hat. The sides of the excavations had vertical walls and the supervisor failed to direct the coworker to slope back the excavation in a 1 to 1 slope or to provide shoring for the employee who may need to go into the excavation.
| End Use | Project Type | Project Cost | Stories | Non-building Height | Fatality | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sewer/water treatment plant | New project or new addition | $500,000 to $1,000,000 | X | ||||
| Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation | Construction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 120350855 | Fatality | Fracture | Construction laborers | Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Trenching, installing pipe Fatality Cause: Trench collapse |
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