L&I Issues Tickets to Washington State Businesses for Deadly Safety Violations

How did this construction work injury happen?

The trench collapsed in multiple stages. A worker was trapped under the trench after the initial collapse. Then a bulldozer operator and another worker stepped in to help. Immediately after, a second collapse occurred, trapping all three workers. The excavator operator managed to free himself and call for help. Eventually, workers and managers from three separate companies working on the site responded.

L&I claims that at least 9 people took turns going into the unprotected trench trying to extricate the buried workers. Tragically, the medical team pronounced the worker who jumped in first to help dead at the scene. However, they were able to rescue the trapped worker first and took him to Harborview hospital. He suffered serious injuries but survived this horrible work accident.

The L&I Work Injury Report

More formally, according to Anne Soiza, deputy director in charge of L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH): “This incident is heartbreaking and frustrating. This fatality and one worker’s hospitalization were completely preventable. Digging trenches to this depth, in the dead of winter after days of rain, on unstable ground with no trench box, it was a recipe for disaster.”

Consequently, based on its investigation, L&I concluded that several companies committed “egregious” security violations. Therefore, due to those violations, the companies have been found by L&I.

L&I fined companies involved in work-related death

RES System 3 LLC received the highest penalty. L&I fined the company a total of $360,874 for 8 security violations, some of which are willful, careless, and very serious violations. Explicitly, the violations include the lack of cave-in protection, the lack of a competent person trained in trench safety on site, and the lack of a written safety program tailored to the project. In addition, they were fined for improper training, improper ladder extension, lack of means to get out of the trench, and improper ladder use and setup.

L&I issued a fine to RES America Construction Inc in the amount of $184,800 for 6 willful and serious safety violations. Here, the violations included failure to ensure that the subcontractor had and used cave-in protection, as well as failure to ensure that the subcontractor had a written safety program tailored to the project. In addition, there were further violations for not having a project-specific written safety program for the company’s own employees, inadequate training programs, improper ladder extension, and improper ladder setup and use.

Ultimately, GEMS was the contractor that provided medical services at the site. L&I fined GEMS $4,200 for exposing two of its employees to danger when they entered the trench without protection.

Summary

This case is a very sad reminder that work can be dangerous and even deadly. We are fortunate to have a strong workers’ compensation system in Washington State. However, no amount of money can replace a life lost. As always, employers and workers must remain focused on creating and maintaining safe work environments.

This article was first published at https://recklaw.com/l-and-I-work-injury-death/