Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120081559 - Ross Cook

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:15 a.m. on February 24, 1996, Employee #1, of Ross Cook, Inc., was working at a construction site at Universal Studios. He was installing 4 in. PVC pipe in a 2 ft to 3 ft wide by 3 1/2 ft to 5 1/2 ft deep by 150 ft to 200 ft long unshored trench. A backhoe operator adjacent to the trench was dumping sand into it about 10 ft ahead of where Employee #1 was standing, at a depth of approximately 5 1/2 ft. Employee #1 was directing the operator on how much sand to dump when a section of the south wall caved in, pinning him up to his waist against the north wall. Two coworkers immediately jumped into the trench and started digging with their hands to free Employee #1. After about 10 minutes of digging they were still unable to free him, so they called out to the backhoe operator to help remove some of the dirt. Before Employee #1 could be rescued, another section of the trench wall caved in and crushed his left leg. He was freed shortly thereafter. Employee #1 had broken both his legs and he was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was treated and both legs were placed in casts. He was released from the hospital after about six hours.

Keywords: FRACTURE, INSTALLING, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, TRENCH, CRUSHED, SHORING, BURIED, CAVE-IN, LEG