Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 200784148 - Employee Suffocates in Trench Cave-In
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
309543635 | 04/19/2007 | 1711 | 238220 | Tcs Plumbing |
Abstract: On April 19, 2007, Employee #1 was working for TCS Plumbing, a plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractor in Richardson, Texas. TSC Plumbing had been hired by the manager of a condominium in Irving, Texas, to unclog a drain, and the firm had found the problem to be a broken sewer line approximately 14 feet deep. Employee #1 was working by hand with a shovel in the bottom of the trench, cutting down the sides and shoveling the loose soil into the center of the trench, so it could be removed by the backhoe on site. The backhoe operator was prevented from using the backhoe to cut down the sides of the trench, because a fiber optic cable and a gas line were located in the trench as well. The vertical walls of the trench were not shored to prevent the trench from a cave-in while employees were working. The west wall of the 12-foot-deep trench collapsed, burying Employee #1 under the falling dirt. He suffocated, and he died due to asphyxia.
End Use | Project Type | Project Cost | Stories | Non-building Height | Fatality | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Multi-family dwelling | Maintenance or repair | Under $50,000 | 2 | X |
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation | Construction |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 309543635 | Fatality | Asphyxia | Occupation not reported | Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Trenching, installing pipe Fatality Cause: Trench collapse |