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.
Related News
From Archive
- OSHA issues 16 citations following fatal sewer confined space incident
- 27 pipeline safety violations tied to deadly Pa. chocolate factory explosion
- Contractor gas line strike triggers home explosion in Missouri
- LA recovery reports call for $650 million power line burial, major utility upgrades in Pacific Palisades
- Comprehensive microtrenching FAQ: Key insights on the Vermeer MTR516 microtrencher
- T-Mobile to expand fiber broadband infrastructure footprint with $4.9 billion Metronet acquisition
- First tunnel boring machines complete testing for Hudson Tunnel Project
- NWPX grows water infrastructure portfolio with Colorado precast facility
- Cityside launches $100 million fiber build in Corona, Calif.
- FiberLight to build 1,400-mile West Texas dark fiber network in $350 million expansion
Comments