Contractor Fined $242K After Worker Killed by Trench Collapse

Thursday, February 14, 2019 | 0

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has fined Bay Area contractor Platinum Pipeline $242,600 for failing to protect employees from trenching hazards after a worker was killed on July 26.

Cal-OSHA investigators determined the Livermore company committed willful-serious safety violations by instructing employees to continue grading the bottom of the trench without providing any protection, even after identifying the soil as unstable, the division said in a press release. As a result, a 14-foot-high excavation wall collapsed and killed one of the workers.

“Excavations must be properly shored, sloped or shielded before workers enter,” said Cal-OSHA Chief Juliann Sum. “The employer overseeing this operation understood the hazards, but did not take the necessary steps to protect its workers.”

Platinum Pipeline Inc. workers were digging trenches to install two storm drain pipes at a residential construction site in Daly City. Three of the five workers were trained and competent in excavation, and the ends of the trench had been sloped to prevent cave-ins. However, one side was not sloped because of concerns that a nearby utility pole might fall, Cal-OSHA said.

One of the operators observed a large crack in the soft dirt of the unprotected wall. Two workers were instructed to be cautious but work was allowed to proceed. When the unprotected wall collapsed, one worker escaped, but the second was fatally crushed.

Cal-OSHA cited Platinum Pipeline for 10 violations, including two classified as willful-serious accident-related, five serious and three general.