OSHA cites contractor for fatal trench collapse in New Canaan, Conn.
(UI) — A contractor from Easton could have prevented the death of an employee, who was repairing an underground water line, in a trench collapse at a New Canaan work site in December 2023, according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
OSHA found that Sound Construction Inc. failed to follow federal safety standards for excavations, exposing five employees to cave-in, engulfment, or struck-by hazards. Specifically, the company did not:
- Provide cave-in protection for the over 12-foot-deep vertical walled trench, leading to an employee's death.
- Train employees on trenching hazard recognition and avoidance.
- Keep an excavator more than two feet from the trench’s edge.
- Verify the location of underground utilities and structures before excavation.
OSHA cited Sound Construction for two willful and five serious violations, proposing penalties totaling $394,083. This is not the first time the company has been cited; in 2016, OSHA cited it for three serious trench safety violations at a Trumbull worksite.
“Despite prior warnings, Sound Construction ignored trench safety protections and that decision cost an employee their life,” said OSHA Area Director Catherine Brescia in Bridgeport. “All employers should make workplace safety a priority or risk being responsible for leaving the family, friends and co-workers of one or more of their employees to grieve this kind of preventable death.”
Sound Construction has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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