Inspection Detail

Inspection: 314862509 - Prkacin Company

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on June 4, 2012, an employee was working in a trench, preparing the trench for a pipe bed. He was performing a regularly assigned task of removing soil and debris with a shovel. The trench collapsed. The employee was trapped. He suffered multiple rib fractures and a fractured arm. The employee was rescued and transported to UCLA Medical Center, where he was hospitalized. The Cal/OSHA Division was notified of the accident by the Los Angeles Fire Department at 3:50 p.m. on June 4, 2012. The Division initiated an inspection at 5:25 p.m. on June 4, 2012. The employee was employed by Prkacin Company, Glendale, California, a pipeline construction company. The investigation determined that the employee had been working at the job site for two months, performing the duties of a laborer. At the time of the accident, he was assigned to remove soil and broken pipe from the bottom of a trench measuring 21 feet deep by 25 feet long. Trench shields extended from top to bottom along most of the length of the trench, but the 4-foot section at the end of the trench was shielded only along the bottom 4 feet. The soil had sloughed away from the trench sides in the area of the 4-foot shield, creating a void where the employee would discard the shoveled soil and debris. The soil in the trench was a very granular type C. While the employee was in the trench, soil sloughed off the trench wall behind the full-length trench shields and flowed into the trench. The flowing soil pushed the employee into the trench jacks, resulting in his injuries. The employee was working within close proximity to a witness at the time of the accident.

Keywords: FRACTURE, SLOUGH, CONSTRUCTION, TRENCH, CAUGHT BETWEEN, RIB, ARM, TRENCH JACKS, CAVE-IN, SHOVEL