Construction Site Trench Collapses - Lack of Support

Construction site trench collapse - Salem Township, Pennsylvania - April 29, 2010 - James Berry, 35 from Berwick was killed as he worked construction on a crew building a motel and campground. A fellow worker who was not identified was also injured. The event that caused this worker's death was the collapse of a 7-foot deep trench that caved in around 8:45 a.m. off of Route 11. They were not able to unbury him till around 2:30 p.m. The Luzerme County Coroner's Office is involved in some capacity. OSHA arrived and the report is the crew was shoring up the sides using plywood and metal pistons, whatever that means. The article describes the trench as being 25 feet long, 7 feet deep and 3 feet wide; allegedly for a sewer pipe.  If you're going to do construction work know how to do it safely. Learn the trade from qualified instructors and then follow the rules of safety. If you're the foreman make sure your site is a safe one where rules aren't ignored but followed; not discouraged.

In Luzerne County "it is the statutory duty of the coroner to investigate all suspicious deaths and to determine the cause and manner of death in all such cases". This function is accomplished through post mortem examination when indicated, review of medical records, medical history, examination of the scene where the death occurred and investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death. Cases that mandate a post mortem examination or autopsy are as follows: All infant and child deaths and all homicide deaths. Statistically in 2009 this county experienced 1133 deaths of which 958 were by natural causes, 7 were of infants, 72 accidental deaths including 50 overdoses, 34 suicides (3 by overdosing), 18 homicides, 43 were by motor vehicle and 1 was by motorcycle.

Another construction worker died in Maryland when he was hit by a large solid waste truck in Montgomery County. He was 44-year-old Randall Hart. This is a backing accident, which are preventable if backup warning devices are used or if no audible warning device a spotter is used. The article doesn't say whether either of these two safety features were at work.