Abstract: At approximately 3:30 p.m. on May 10, 2012, Employee #1 was working for two individuals. they were homeowners engaged in construction activities as owner-builders. The company had three employees. Employee #1 was working in Beverly Hills, CA, 90210. At the time of the incident, Employee #1 was digging a trench with hand tools. The trench was twenty-two inches wide, ten feet deep and sixteen feet long (0.56 meters wide by 3.0 meters deep by 4.9 meters long). The soil was saturated with water due to the high water table present in the canyon where the residence was located. Workers were waterproofing and installing drains around the basement of the residence. The trench was unshored, and it collapsed. Employee #1 was engulfed in muddy soil. He was asphyxiated. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles City fire paramedics. The cause of the trench's collapse was the creation of an excavation without the use of a protective system to prevent a cave-in.