trench

Published on: May 23, 2022

When The Boss Tries To Kill His Workers!

Safety. It’s a topic I frequently discuss on this blog. Today’s post goes beyond normal safety or injury talk. Today, I’m discussing employers who knowingly choose to put their employees in a situation where injury or death is likely. We’re not talking companies that are negligent in keeping the workplace safe. We’re talking companies that know a grave danger actually exists in the moment but then put their own employees into that danger anyway. What kind of boss sends his own workers into the face of a known danger where their deaths are likely?

No employer should ever knowingly demand its employees put their lives needlessly at risk. No employer should ever choose to ignore known workplace dangers. But, that’s the story I recently read about a deadly workplace accident in another state.

What happened? A deadly trench collapse killed two workers. What makes that collapse so terrible is that the boss sent workers into the trench knowing it had partially collapsed earlier in the day. He knowingly sent his own workers into a collapsing trench to finish the job.

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Published on: March 28, 2022

Have We Failed To Keep Our Public Employees Safe In Alabama?

By Jeff Blackwell

Last Fall, I wrote about two deadly trench collapses in the Huntsville area. One trench collapse involved a private construction company in Madison. The other involved a City of Huntsville project and public employees. Year-after-year, trench collapses are one of the most frequent causes of construction site wrongful deaths.

Were these two deadly construction accidents treated differently? Yes. After an investigation, OSHA fined the private contractor in Madison for its fatal accident. The City’s public project? That’s a different story. The City was not cited for the dangerous worksite it created. And, it did create one. A 20 foot deep, unprotected trench, is a reckless and dangerous condition. It’s inexcusable for the City to put its workers in such tremendous danger!

Why were the two different sites treated differently? Why do workers employed with private companies get some protection from OSHA while many public workers do not? All workers deserve a safe workplace!

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Published on: October 14, 2021

Trench Safety Is An Issue In Alabama. What Are Four Common Dangers Of Trenches On Work Sites?

By Jeff Blackwell

I recently wrote a post that discussed four of the most common accidents involving worksite trenches. You can read the post by clicking HERE. I wrote my earlier article because of the frequent number of deadly trench-related accidents across Alabama. In just the last couple years, we’ve suffered deadly trench collapses in Huntsville, Madison and Hoover. In addition to those fatal accidents, a Tuscaloosa company lost workers when a trench in Mississippi collapsed.

With a little safety effort, most deadly trench accidents could be prevented. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published standards and a clear fact sheet related to trenches on worksites. Safety professionals are well-aware of the hazards and the easy steps which would prevent disasters.

For detailed information, you can read my prior article. After writing that earlier article, I created the following slideshow on the issue:

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Published on: September 7, 2021

Four Common Injuries Due To Unsafe Trenches On Construction Sites

By Jeff Blackwell

Last month, OSHA proposed fines against a company for a deadly Huntsville-area trench collapse. What happened? The fatal accident occurred at a local construction site along Jeff Road. The worker entered a deep trench to work on some underground utility pipes. The trench then collapsed, suffocating the worker under thousands of pounds of soil.

After investigating this fatal construction accident, OSHA concluded the contractor failed to inspect its trenches and failed to use a proper shield system for preventing cave-ins. In issuing proposed penalties against the Huntsville contractor, OSHA’s area director said the following:

Trenching and excavation is among the most dangerous work in the construction industry. The failure to use required safety equipment and follow procedures in this case turned a preventable hazard into a fatal result. We hope other industry employers comply with the law and take appropriate actions to avoid similar tragedies.

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