Inspection Detail

Inspection: 315776716 - West Valley Construction Co., Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Foster City District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 10:41 a.m. on November 5, 2013, Employee #1 and a coworker were uncovering a trench, which had water pipes laid into the trench. The trench was about 6 ft deep, 7 ft wide and 12 ft long, covered by three heavy metal plates. Both employees were using a mobile crane mounted on a truck to lift the metal plates one by one. However, after lifting up the first metal plate, the employees realized that load was not as stable as it should be. Therefore, the coworker told Employee #1 to extend the outriggers of the crane and set up wood cribbing underneath the footing of the outriggers because the crane-truck was parked on a slightly sloped area. Employee #1 had his back towards the open trench while he was sitting on the ground and was setting up the cribbing. Employee # 1 was about 4.5 ft away from the open trench while cribbing. As he finished the cribbing and got up, he forgot about the open trench behind him and took two to three steps backwards, falling into the trench. He struck his back on a valve attached to the water pipes, which were about 3 ft high above the trench surface. Employee #1 suffered serious injuries to his spine, and he was hospitalized for approximately three days at a medical center.

Keywords: SPINE, STRUCK AGAINST, TRENCH, BACK, VALVE, FALL, WATER PIPE