OSHA cites Chicago company for 2022 trench collapse that killed one worker
BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. (AP) — Federal workplace safety regulators have cited a suburban Chicago plumbing company for a trench collapse last year in which a worker died.
Nikodem Zarembra, 27, of Elmwood Park, was buried for more than an hour and stopped breathing while in the trench in Buffalo Grove on Dec. 12, authorities said. He died later at a hospital. He was trying to fix a residential water line at the time of the collapse.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors determined his employer, Rooter Solutions Inc. of Burr Ridge, failed to install cave-in protection in the trench and did not require head protection, the agency announced Friday.
The trench was about 13 ft. (3.9 meters) long, 9 ft. (2.7 meters) wide and 8 ft. (2.4 meters) deep, OSHA said. Protective systems are required for trenches that are deeper than 5 ft. (1.5 meters).
The company was issued a citation for one willful violation and one serious violation with proposed penalties of nearly $36,000, WFLD-TV reported.
Someone answering a telephone call for comment Friday to Rooter Solutions hung up.
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