Abstract: On April 16, 2007, Employee #1 was working for a plumbing company that was repairing a blocked sewer line to a home. On April 14, a trench was partially dug in the front yard; it poured down rain all day on April 15; and worked continued on April 16. The trench was 18 feet long, 7 feet deep and 44 inches wide. The trench was not shored and the spoil pile was at the edge of the south wall of the trench. Employees were not wearing hard hats. A 12-foot aluminum extension ladder was located at the west end of the trench. Employee #1 went into the trench to look at the pipe that had been unearthed. He was in the trench for approximately 3 minutes. He started climbing up the ladder on his way out of the trench when the owner of the company asked him to bring up the shovel. As the he turned to his left to reach for the shovel, the north wall of the trench partially caved in. The force of the soil caving in knocked him off the ladder and turned him around. As he tried to get out of the way of the falling soil, the impact took/drove him into the middle of the trench and the soil buried him up to his knees. While he was falling, he hit the south wall of the trench. It took approximately six hours for the rescue squads to free him from the trench. He was taken to a shock trauma facility and was hospitalized with a broken right shoulder clavicle, a sprained left ankle, very sore legs, a hole on the inside of his right jaw, and multiple bruises.