If You Fail Try Try Again
I consider myself a adequately reasonable person. True, I believe that whatsoever employer who kills one of his workers in an unprotected trench deserves jail time. But I'm always open to the (very unlikely) possibility that an employer wasn't aware that OSHA requires trenches over 5 feet deep to be protected with a trench box or other shoring. Or maybe the employer had neglected to do training. Or his measuring tape was broken. At that place are potential factors that I'd take into account when considering how many years in jail an employer deserves.
But for this example, if I was king of the world, I would evidence no mercy. If I had it my way, the owner of D Guerra Structure LLC would not spend one more twenty-four hours walking the earth as a gratuitous person.
Two Strikes and You're Dead
Why? What happened? According to an OSHA press release:
After escaping from a fractional trench collapse hours earlier, two workers employed by an Austin contractor to install a residential wastewater line were not as fortunate later on Oct. 23, 2021.
Both were told to render to the unprotected xiii-foot-deep trench to finish the job, and soon after, the trench complanate again. This time, the collapse buried ane worker causing fatal injuries and partially buried the second, who suffered serious injuries.
Did you lot go that? These extremely lucky workers managed to escape the collapse of a xiii foot deep trench. xiii feet is over 2-ane/2 times equally deep as allowed by OSHA. A cubic meter of soil weighs as much as a car, so most workers don't live to tell the tale when a trench collapses.
But instead of thanking his lucky stars that he hadn't killed one or two of his employees, and and so using the trench box (that was on the site) to brand the trench condom, the owner of D Guerra Construction LLC ordered the workers back into the trench. The trench collapsed, killing i of the workers. And to add together insult to injury, the company failed to report the fatality to OSHA within 24 hours as required by constabulary.
Existence "on fourth dimension and on budget" is more than of import than the lives of their employees.
Guerra obviously tin can't claim that he had no idea a trench could collapse similar that, considering it had simply collapsed. And looking at the gallery on the company's website, you'll find several photos of happy workers deep downwards in trenches that are protected by trench boxes. The company boasts of being "On Time & On Upkeep," only apparently being on time and on budget is more of import than the lives of their employees.
OSHA cited the company for:
- Failing to take a trench protective system in place.
- Exposing workers to cave-in hazards.
- Failing to inspect the earthworks.
- Exposing workers to the dangers of being struck past fabric and equipment.
The bureau proposed more than a $243,000 penalty: ii willful violations, 1 for $93,234 for not inspecting the trench, and another for $130,524 for not protection the trench against cave ins. They also received ii serious penalties for not training workers, and allowing them to piece of work in a trench where water was nowadays.
Jail Time?
Because OSHA issued a willful citation that was related to the fatality, the Occupational Safety and Health Act states that OSHA can pursue a criminal prosecution of the employer. OSHA must refer the case to the Justice Section, and the Justice Section decides whether to pursue the case. The problem is that Justice often chooses non to prosecute cases under the OSHAct, considering fifty-fifty if the case results in a conviction, it'due south but a misdemeanor — oftentimes not worth the attempt that a criminal case requires.
Local prosecutors can also seek criminal penalties. Final month, a Washington employer was sentenced to 45 days in jail for the decease of one of his employees in a trench collapse.
Major jail time could ship a stiff message to employers across the country.
The skillful news about this tragedy is that it occurred in Travis County, Texas. Travis County has a progressive District Attorney, Jose Garza, a former US Department of Labor official and a old Executive Director of the Workers Defense Project, a Texas organization that advocates for workers. In this case, of grade, 45 years would exist more appropriate than 45 days. Major jail time could ship a strong message to employers across the country.
Invisible Death
Some other side-note. As Confined Space readers are aware, I religiously itemize in The Weekly Cost every worker I tin can find on the spider web that was killed in a workplace incident the week before. This fatality was non included because the news at the time reported that beginning responders had rescued iii workers from a trench. The subsequent death of one of the workers was apparently never reported. And because the local media never followed up, I tin't even find the proper noun of the worker killed in the trench.
For More Data….
The dangers of trenches — and how to prevent them from collapsing — have been known for thousands of years. Non just has OSHA had trenching standards for decades, just even before OSHA — like somewhere about 2300 years before OSHA — Heroditus wrote about how the Phoenicians had figured out how to prevent trench collapses that were plaguing their army.
For anyone out there who yet doesn't know most trenches or can't figure out how to become data, OSHA's trenching and excavation webpage provides additional data on trenching hazards and solutions, including a safety video. (Or you can do a Google search under "trench safety" which will conjure upwards about 10 million hits in one-half a second.)
In other words, at that place'south no excuse for claiming ignorance.
Source: https://jordanbarab.com/confinedspace/2022/04/23/if-you-fail-to-kill-your-workers-the-first-time-around-try-try-again/
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