Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 202464814 - Employee Asphyxiated When Trench Caves-In

Accident Summary Nr: 202464814 -- Report ID: 0950643 -- Event Date: 03/19/2007
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
310196407	03/19/2007	1794	238910	Sub-Zero Excavating Inc.

Abstract: On March 19, 2007, Employee #1 was working as a helper inside an excavation for a sewer line on a new residential construction project. He was told by the foreman/backhoe operator to clear some dirt inside the trench. As he reached for a shovel on the opposite side of the trench, the soil/spoil collapsed on him. He was asphyxiated. The trench was about 2 feet wide, with an estimated depth of 4 feet to 5 feet or slightly more (depth was difficult to measure because the spoil/soil was partially covering the trench area). The trench had no shoring and the soil showed characteristics of sloping downward in an angular array. The only witness was the foreman. The backhoe was about 5 feet away from where Employee #1 was standing.

Keywords: CHEST, ASPHYXIATED, INSTALLING, CONSTRUCTION, TRENCH, SHORING, CAVE-IN, BACKHOE

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		New project or new addition		$500,000 to $1,000,000	1		X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	310196407			Fatality	Asphyxia	Construction laborers	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Trenching, installing pipe Fatality Cause: Trench collapse

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