JARRELL, Texas — After a federal investigation, officials have determined that a construction company is largely at fault after the deaths of two employees working at a trench site in Jarrell in June.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the company failed to follow required workplace safety standards, giving the workers who were installing sewer lines in the underground trench, which was more than two stories deep, "little chance of survival" when the collapse occurred.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators responded to the site on June 28 to find that WBW Construction LLC willfully violated federal law when they failed to put in place a trench protective system. They also said that the company did not provide an exit point within 25 feet of the trench.
Additionally, OSHA issued four serious citations for:
- Not using ladders as designed
- failing to inspect the worksite as frequently as required
- not removing water in the trench
- failing to provide workers with first aid training
OSHA has since placed the WBW Construction LLC in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program and proposed penalties of $250,272.
“WBW Construction LLC willfully sent these workers into an unprotected trench and ignored federal safety requirements. Now, two workers’ families, friends and co-workers are left to grieve their tragic, and avoidable, deaths,” said OSHA Area Director Casey Perkins in Austin. “Incidents like this can be prevented by following proven and well-known methods to protect workers from the deadly hazards in trenching and excavation work.”
According to OSHA, 35 workers have died in trenching and excavation work since the end of November, which is more than double the number in all of 2021. Between 2011 and 2018, 166 workers have died in trench collapses.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing a sudden increase in the number of workers dying in trench and excavation collapses,” Perkins said. “OSHA has a National Emphasis Program in place to alert employers and workers of the dangers, and to hold violators accountable. We also encourage anyone who sees workers in an unsafe trench to help us save lives by reporting the hazardous situation.”
For more information on OSHA's trenching and excavation standards, click here.