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Los Angeles Worker Killed in Fatal Construction Accident

To California construction accident lawyers, trench collapses are more tragic than other types of construction accidents, because these are so easily preventable. This week, a construction worker in Los Angeles was killed when the trench that he was working in, collapsed suddenly.

The man was working at a Studio City home on Tuesday afternoon. He was inside a trench that was 8 foot deep and 2 feet wide. The walls of the trench suddenly collapsed, burying the man up to his neck within seconds. The Los Angeles Fire Department rushed to the scene of the accident, and found the man unconscious and not breathing. They made strong efforts to remove the man from the soil that covered him, including using a vacuum to suck off the soil on his head, but in spite of the best efforts of the fire crews, the man succumbed to his injuries. Cal OSHA investigators have already been dispatched to the scene of the accident, to begin an investigation into the collapse. A total of 65 Los Angeles firefighters, including the USAR team responded to the scene of the accident.

According to investigators, none of the man’s coworkers witnessed the collapse. The victim was in his 30s.

This is a tragedy also many levels. It’s 2011, and a fatal construction accident simply should not occur. It’s hard to imagine a worse fate for a construction worker than being buried alive under tons of soil. A trench collapse can quickly lead to a worker being trapped and asphyxiated. Once a collapse is triggered, the soil can quickly pour into the trench. In most cases, other workers around the trench may not even be able to reach the man in time to pull him out before he is completely covered by the soil. The need for following all trench safety regulations is even more important when you consider that rescue operations are extremely difficult in a trench collapse accident. When emergency personnel respond to the scene of a trench collapse, they cannot simply go marching into the trench, because of the risk of triggering another collapse. A lot of safety precautions have to be taken before a rescue can be initiated. All of this takes precious time, which simply makes the prospects of survival even bleaker.

A complete investigation by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration office will reveal what went wrong here. However California construction accident lawyers believe that safety precautions were not followed. Based on information available, it’s not clear whether benching or shoring techniques could have prevented this kind of collapse.

In a depressed economy, reports of violations of construction safety regulations are cropping up more and more often, as contractors and construction companies cut corners in order to boost profits.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of a fatal construction accident. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us. A Los Angeles Work Accident Lawyer is waiting to help you!

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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