Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1734095.015 - R.C. Retaining Walls, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Dallas Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:15 p.m. on March 8, 2024, an employee working as a construction laborer for a retaining walls contractor was working on a crew that had just prepared a site. The crew was getting ready to drive their first 6-inch by 6-inch by 30-foot-long beam into the lakebed approximately 104 feet into the water. The crew had a barge with an excavator in place that they would use to drive the wooden beams into the lake bottom. The beams were being floated out to the crew working on the barge. The employee and a coworker were on the bank placing the beam into the water. The employee worked in waist deep water catching the beam and ensuring it was guided towards the crew on the barge who were to retrieve the beam. The crew had already stood up the beam on its end, positioned it, and were trying to ensure that it was level before the excavator drove it down into the muddy lake bottom. It was windy, and the beam got away from the crew on the barge as they were attempting to ensure it was level. The beam fell towards the center of the lake and started floating away. Allegedly, the employee immediately reacted since he was already in the water and swam after the beam. He swam approximately 15 feet from the barge when he turned around to return to his original position. The employee slipped under the water. He did come resurface once but appeared to be taking in water and was in obvious need of help. A coworker (the foreman) took off his heavy clothing and jumped in to assist the employee, using a 2-inch by 6-inch board as a flotation device. The employee could not find the employee, so he returned to the shore. The employee never resurfaced, and his body was later recovered by a search crew using sonar in boats and with the assistance of the game warden. The employee had died due to drowning.

Keywords: Barge, Boat, Drown, Drowning, Installing, Insufficient Supervision, Laborer, Lack of Work Procedures, Lack of oxygen, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, PPE, PPE Hazard Assessment, Water, Wood Board, Work Surface