Rise in construction throughout Indiana and Illinois comes with increasing worksite injury risks in trench or excavation accidents.
A construction boom is forecast in our part of the country, from Hoosier residential construction to the variety of road work and infrastructure commercial construction projects in Illinois and Indiana arising out of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Of note, the State of Illinois ranked second in the country for Best States for Construction Jobs in a recent survey.
A thriving construction industry benefits both our state economies as well as family finances and these predictions are very good news. They are especially welcome after the unprecedented economic impact of the COVID Pandemic. However, for safety agencies and advocates of construction worker accident victims and their loved ones, there is a parallel concern which must be addressed.
Alongside increasing construction work in a variety of construction projects in Indiana and Illinois comes the need to address the known dangers facing construction workers on the job which are unfortunately all too often ignored or neglected by employers, landowners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and others who have custody or control of the worksite.
Construction work is very dangerous and sometimes deadly. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) warns us that 1 in 5 workplace deaths on the job happens to a construction worker.
Trenching Dangers on the Construction Site
Regardless of the type of project, most construction sites will need excavation work. Construction workers as well as their employers are well aware of the need for excavation and its accompanying risks of injury or death.
What is excavation?
Whenever construction work involves digging of soil, earth, or rock, excavation is happening. By definition, excavation involves “any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the Earth’s surface formed by earth removal.” Sometimes the result of excavation is a hole or tunnel.
What is a trench?
However, sometimes excavation results in a trench, defined by OSHA as “…a narrow excavation (in relation to its length) made below the surface of the ground. In general, the depth of a trench is greater than its width, but the width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is not greater than 15 feet (4.6 m).”
Trenches are not tunnels or holes. Instead, they are a narrow and underground excavation needed on the construction site for things like placement of internet cable, gas, electricity, telephone, or other utility lines as well as other types of infrastructure.
Inherently Dangerous Structure of a Trench
Key here is that by definition, a trench is much deeper than it is wide. This configuration has proven itself inherently dangerous, as the trench walls are vulnerable to collapsing down upon themselves at any time.
Dirt is heavy. The amount of dirt or soil can be a very small amount and there can still be deadly results or catastrophic injuries for construction workers trapped in the trench collapse.
The Legal Duty to Protect Construction Workers from Trenching Accidents
Construction workers in Indiana and Illinois are right to depend upon those in possession, custody, or control of the work site and the building process to keep them safe from excavation and trenching injuries on the job. Failure to meet this legal liability can result in legal claims brought by the construction worker as well as loved ones who suffer as a consequence of the accident.
The Indiana Department of Labor and Indiana OSHA, noting that 2019 saw over two dozen excavation and trench-related construction worker deaths, finds that these serious digging accidents on the construction site happen when:
- The employer, contractor, and others legally responsible for the project have failed to get a soil analysis;
- Those in control of the construction project and employing its workers have not created and implemented a protective system against excavation and trenching incidents; and
- There is a failure to provide knowledgeable safety oversight by an OSHA-defined competent person.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“NIOSH”) lists the following duties in planning that must be met by employers before any construction worker sets foot on the job site where excavation may occur. These include:
- Assign and train a competent person.
- Call 811 to identify and mark underground utility lines.
- Dig a minimum 5 feet away from utility lines.
- Evaluate the soil to determine its stability.
- Plan the job layout to identify safe locations for spoil piles and heavy equipment routes.
- Before the job starts, if the trench will be 5 feet or deeper, set up a protective system.
- If the trench will be 20 feet or deeper, provide additional engineering protections.
- Have a traffic control plan and lane closure permits.
- Develop a trench emergency action plan.
NIOSH also points out that additional safety procedures are usually warranted to keep construction sites safe from trenching accidents. These include: directional boring, relining the pipe, pipe ramming, and utility tunneling and pipe jacking. For more, read Development of Draft Construction Safety Standards for Excavations. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 83-103 (Volumes I & II).
Both excavation and trenching operations are subject to the federal safety standards found in 29 C.F.R. Part 1926, Subpart P. The State of Indiana and the State of Illinois both operate OSHA-approved state plans. For more, read Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
Justice for Construction Workers Injured or Killed in a Trench Accident
For construction workers and their families, it is vital that they know that state and federal law creates significant legal duties for employers and those with control or ownership of construction project operations regarding trenching and digging operations on all construction sites. If an accident happens, these legal responsibilities may result in liability for the injuries and damages suffered by the construction worker and dependent loved ones.
These legal duties to protect against serious or fatal trenching accidents are detailed. They create a responsibility to understand all the risks faced by construction workers in digging or trench work as well as the responsibility to undertake all reasonable and prudent actions to protect workers from being harmed by excavations, especially a trench collapse.
Any construction worker on the job who is seriously injured in a trench or excavation accident has a legal right to investigate the incident to determine if there has been a failure in these established legal duties to keep construction workers safe from harm.
Legal claims for monetary recompense may be available under the state laws of negligence, premises liability, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death that can provide for things like medical expenses, lost wages, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, present and future rehabilitation needs, funeral expenses, and more.
To learn more about employer duties to protect against construction worker accidents, see:
- Work Zones in Illinois and Indiana: Fatal Accidents, Serious Injuries
- Trade Stacking Construction Accidents: The Danger of Overcrowded Job Sites
- Construction Worker’s Risk of Dying on the Job Jumps 41% According to New Report
- The Increasing Danger of Dying on the Job: Fatality Risk Just Keeps Growing for Workers
- What are Catastrophic Injuries? Severe Bodily Harm Suffered by Accident Survivors in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois.
With the boom in construction projects in the upcoming years here in Indiana and Illinois, our construction workers deserve to be kept safe from the known dangers of the worksite, especially the risk of severe injury or death in a trench failure. Sadly, history has shown there are employers and others who will ignore or disrespect longstanding legal duties regarding excavation, digging, and trench work on the construction site with tragic results. Please be careful out there!
