Abstract: At approximately 12:00 noon on October 13, Employee #1 (the owner of the company) and an employee of his were installing an 8 in. PVC storm sewer pipe in an unshored trench. The trench was 10 ft 8 in. deep by 105 ft long, and approximately 5 ft wide at the bottom and 7 ft 6 in. wide at the surface. Employee #1 was in the trench aligning the pipe and making couplings while his employee operated a backhoe. There was no ladder in the trench or at the site and Employee #1 attempted to ride the bucket of the backhoe to exit the trench. He lost his balance and fell back into the trench, breaking his back. Employee #1 was removed from the trench at 3:00 p.m. by rescue personnel.