Company Fined $78,100 in Fatal Trench Collapse

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued eight citations with penalties totaling $78,100 to Big Warrior Corp. of Cleveland, Ala., following the investigation of a fatal trench collapse at a work site in Gulfport, Miss. On April 27, three Big Warrior Corp. employees were digging under a 54-inch storm sewer when a section of the trench wall collapsed, trapping one worker, who died. OSHA issued one willful citation with a penalty of $56,000 alleging the employer permitted employees to work in an 8- to 10-foot-deep trench with vertical side walls that were not sloped, shored ...