OSHA Cites Contractor After Trench Collapse

July 17, 2020

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Unnerstall Contracting Co. for violations of OSHA’s trenching and excavation standards after an employee suffered severe injuries when a 20-foot trench collapsed during excavation of Creve Coeur Sanitary Sewer Trunk in Creve Coeur, Missouri. OSHA cited the Pacific, Missouri-based company for three willful and four serious violations, and faces penalties of $223,459. The agency has placed the company in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. 

OSHA cited the company for failing to utilize adequate trench protective systems, permitting employees to ride in the bucket of hydraulic excavators, and allowing water to accumulate in the floor of the trench. OSHA also cited the employer for failing to provide a safe means of egress from the trench, protect workers from struck-by hazards, and place excavated soil piles an adequate distance from trench edges. 

"Excavating and trenching operations are among the most hazardous occupations in the construction industry," said OSHA St. Louis Area Director Bill McDonald. "A trench collapse can happen in just seconds causing serious injuries just as quickly. Injuries can be prevented when employers train workers on excavation hazards and ensure required protections are in place before workers enter a trench as required by the OSHA standard."

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent OSHA review commission.