Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126751635 - Hall Plumbing & Mechanical Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Utah Division Of Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

At 11:15 a.m. on November 3, 1995, Employee #1, a 19-year-old employee of Hall Plumbing and Mechanical, was working in a 14 ft long by 5 ft wide by 6 ft 2 in. deep trench at a construction site. Another employee was reversing a backhoe to position it at the edge of the trench when the backhoe began to slip slowly into the excavation. The backhoe took several seconds to slide into the trench, and as it was doing so the backhoe operator yelled at Employee #1 to get out of the excavation. After slipping slowly for several seconds, the backhoe traveled rapidly the rest of the way. The bucket struck Employee #1 and pushed him against the wall of the trench. It rebounded from the point of impact, pinned him against the excavation wall, and killed him. Coworkers in the area attempted to remove him but could not. A tracked excavator working at the same construction site was brought to the accident scene and pulled the backhoe out of the excavation. The backhoe operator stated that the brakes had not responded when he applied pressure, but a subsequent check found them to perform properly in both forward and reverse directions. One of the witnesses said that the wheels were locked as the backhoe slipped into the trench.

Keywords: EXCAVATION, PINNED, CONSTRUCTION, EARTHMOVING EQUIP, STRUCK BY, UNSTABLE SOIL, FALLING OBJECT, BACKHOE, BACKHOE BUCKET, BACKING UP