OK, so I'm sitting here waiting for the headlines, the CNN special reports, the Congressional hearings, the promises to toughen the safety laws and increase penalties.

And waiting, and waiting...

Jan 28, 2006
Two rescued from cave-in: Workers frantically dig to extricate men

A welding mask may have saved the life of a Pocahontas man buried alive at 2:45 p.m. Friday after a wall of dirt trapped him and a co-worker in a trench on Highway 62 East near Mallard Point Road.

Emergency personnel pulled 33-year-old Rodney Smith and co-worker Jay Davis from a 10-foot trench and immediately transported them to Baxter County Regional Medical Center for treatment.


February 1, 2006
Trench collapse injures one

North Haven, CT-A trench collapse in North Haven sends one person to the hospital.

The trench collapsed when a ditch was being dug for a pipe in an industrial area of Sackett Point Road and one worker was injured.


February 2, 2006
Man Dead After Trench Collapses In Bloomfield Hills

A man is dead after a construction trench collapsed in Bloomfield Hills Wednesday afternoon.

Bloomfield Hills police said the man was working on an exterior wall of a basement in a house on Pinegate Street, near Woodward and Long Lake.


February 18, 2006
Trench's collapse kills plumber

JAMES CITY -- The plumber who died Wednesday morning at a construction site after a trench collapsed was buried for nearly 38 minutes before rescuers could get to him.

Timothy Allen Stanfield, 25, of Daybreak Circle in Newport News was installing water and sewer lines for a new house in the Stonehouse subdivision when the trench's walls gave way.


Feb 21, 2006
Reno man becomes second person to die in trench collapse

Reno, NV -- A Reno man died at a hospital today, four days after he was buried in a trench collapse at a golf course.

39-year-old Travis Cruz became the second person to die in the accident at Reno's Somersett Golf Course. A co-worker, Clayton Gregory of Redding, California, died in the cave-in Tuesday.

A third worker, Anthony Smith of Reno, was trapped for nearly four hours before being rescued.

February 24, 2006
Firefighters rescue two workers trapped in trench collapse

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. Firefighters in Mount Pleasant have rescued two men trapped in a trench collapse.


February 26, 2006
Worker dies after pit collapses

SAN BERNARDINO - A construction worker on the Interstate 210 extension project died Saturday when a hole being excavated collapsed around him.

[Capt. Mike Bilheimer of the San Bernardino Fire Department] said two workers were installing trench boxes about 30 feet down in a hole wider than a tractor-trailer when the north side of the hole collapsed. One worker escaped, but the other was buried.


Meanwhile, in the "Why are these guys still walking the earth as free men" Department...

Company fined in trench fatality

WEST CHESTER, OH - A West Chester construction company was hit today with nearly $200,000 in additional fines for alleged violations of federal workplace health and safety standards.

The fines are the second time in two months the company has been fined for unsafe conditions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that it is proposing $194,250 more in fines against the Sunesis Construction Company following inspections at three trenching sites opened between August and October 2005.

These guys are particularly infuriating. Sunesis is a big, well established company that gets lots of government contracts. There's no excuse for killing two men or their repeated neglect of well-recognized safety standards. So is $400,000 just payment for the lives of two men, and the reckless endangerment of many others? Will it deter others from comitting the same crimes?

I'd say a little hard time rotting in the state pen might send a clearer message.


And then there these...

Safety Administration Charges Contractor in Trench Fatality

A worker died in a trench collapse in the construction zone at Elm Hill Pike under Briley Parkway back in December. Now the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) has cited the Mt. Juliet Contractor.

TOSHA completed its investigation of a workplace accident that resulted in a fatality on December 1, 2005. The report cites Mountain States Contractors LLC and its successors located in Mt. Juliet, and they’ve been fined $147,200.

The company has been cited with both willful and serious violations. Willful violations are issued when an employer has shown intentional disregard of the requirements of the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.


Company fined for deadly ditch accident

SANDPOINT, ID -- A Sandpoint excavation company has negotiated a settlement with federal labor safety regulators over a utility line trench cave-in which killed a Sagle man last summer.

Tucker Excavation & Pipeline must develop and implement an excavation safety program and pay nearly $19,000 in fines for safety violations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Yeah, $19,000 out have 'em shaking in their boots.

Labels: Trench Hazards