Utilities contractor cited by OSHA after trench collapse injury

A Florida utilities contractor is facing $271,606 in proposed penalties and has been deemed a severe violator of federal workplace safety rules for exposing employees to trenching hazards.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Jacksonville, Florida-based Jax Utilities Management Inc. following an investigation launched after an employee was injured and hospitalized when an unprotected trench collapsed, according to an agency statement on Thursday.

Willful citations were issued for exposing employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards and allowing employees to work without cave-in protection while a serious citation was issued for allowing water to accumulate in the trench, which contributed to the collapse.

The investigation was conducted as part of OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation.

Jax Utilities has also been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which focuses on inspecting employers that the agency says have demonstrated indifference to their Occupational Safety and Health Act obligations through willful, repeated or failure-to-abate violations.

“Trenching and excavation hazards are preventable,” Brian Sturtecky, OSHA Jacksonville-area office director, said in the statement. “This employer knowingly exposed employees to dangerous and potentially fatal hazards, and this injury could have been avoided if the employer had used required protective systems.”

A company spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.