Criminal Prosecution In Trench Death

Now this is more like it.

A concrete company was criminally charged Tuesday in the death of a worker who suffocated in a trench that collapsed at a worksite.

Maco Concrete Inc. willfully violated the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act in connection with the April 23 death of Jeffrey Padot, Attorney General Mike Cox said in a news release.

The St. Clair Shores-based company was charged with failing to provide a hazard-free workplace, a 1-year felony carrying a fine of up to $10,000.

A telephone listing for Maco Concrete could not be located Tuesday night.

Padot, 41, of Eastpointe, and another worker were laying sewer pipes in a 10-foot-deep trench at a home in Oakland County's Addison Township. The other worker was rescued after the trench walls collapsed.

Investigators determined that the earthen trench walls were nearly vertical and were not supported or shored to reduce the risk of collapse, in violation of MIOSHA requirements.

OSHA regulations require trenches deeper than 5 feet to be either shored or sloped.