Abstract: At approximately 1:15 p.m. on July 5, 2006, Employee #1 was working as a construction laborer for Albin Carlson & Company. He had been with this company since June 1, 2006. He was working in a trench that was approximately four feet deep, installing pipe not far from a Caterpillar combination backhoe and front end loader. The unit he was with had finished digging at that location and had moved across a secondary road to its next location, approximately twelve feet away. The operator of the combination backhoe and front end loader, who worked for another company, was attempting to put the outriggers down and throttle up the machine. This was a normal routine operation for the trenching crew, but the operator was on his first day of operating the combination unit alone; he had started with his employer on June 14. The machine suddenly lunged backward, travelling over the trench and pulling Employee #1 out of the trench with its bucket. The bucket then hit a wall, stopped, and dropped onto Employee #1. He was struck in his chest, and he was killed. There were no contributing weather variables; it was clear, warm, and dry. There were two other laborers at the site at the time of the accident.