Two workers who escaped a partial trench collapse in Austin, Texas, weren’t as fortunate a few hours later when their employer told them to get back into the trench which collapsed again, causing fatal injuries for one worker and seriously injured the other.
D Guerra Construction of Austin ordered the two men back into the 13-foot trench for the installation of a residential wastewater line Oct. 23, 2021, according to an April 21 release.
“The loss of this worker’s life was preventable and the employer must be held responsible for ignoring excavation safety rules,” Occupational Safety and Health Administration Area Director in Austin Casey Perkin said in the release.
D Guerra Construction faces $243,000 in penalties after negligence on their part led to fatal, serious injuries to workers, the release reported.
“Despite a partial trench collapse earlier in the day, D Guerra Construction LLC recklessly sent employees back into the excavation without protective measures to prevent another cave-in,” Perkin said, according to the release.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that from 2011 to 2018, a total of 166 workers died in trench collapses, according to the release.
Every year, the National Utility Contractors Association and OSHA collaborate to educate employers and workers. The goal of this initiative is to reduce the number of worker injuries and fatalities related to trench cave-ins, the release reported.
