Worker slices neck in trenching fatality
April 20, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Fatality, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, OSHA news, construction safety
A worker in New Richmond, WI, was killed in a trenching accident, but not because of a cave-in.
A-1 Excavating employee Eugene Hakes was using a large, gas-powered saw to cut through a water main in a trench.
The saw kicked back and struck him in the neck, police said.
He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to WEAU-TV.
An OSHA spokesman said using the saw in the trench would not be a violation as long as it was operating properly and all the guards were in place. OSHA is investigating.
A-1 recently was fined $700,000 for 11 OSHA citations for life-threatening violations involving a trench project last September.
The company failed to protect workers from possible cave-ins in an 8-foot-deep trench.
A-1 contested those violations and refused to come to a settlement agreement, according to OSHA.
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August 17th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Sometimes there’s a death on the job where everything was done the right way, and the OSHA rules haven’t been violated. Just the same, they’ll probably be cited for something, even if it’s unrelated to the saw. An OSHA CSHO hates to walk away empty-handed from a fatality.