OSHA Places Company in SVEP After Worker Fatally Injured in Trench Collapse
The company was also cited for three willful citations.
- By Alex Saurman
- May 19, 2022
A Colorado company is being cited and placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program after a cave-in fatally injured one worker.
According to a press release, A4S LLC, of Breckenridge, Colorado, allegedly exposed workers to hazards by not installing a trench protection system. In November 2021, employees were working in a trench when it collapsed. Two of the workers were able to escape but a third suffered fatal injuries.
OSHA cited the company for three willful citations relating to inspections and trench protective systems. A serious citation was also issued for not having an exit available 25 feet from workers. The investigation found that other trenches on the project had previously collapsed as well.
Proposed penalties total $449,583. The company was also placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which, according to OSHA’s website, inspects employers “who have demonstrated indifference to their OSH Act obligations by willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations.”
“A4S Construction’s failure to comply with excavation requirements cost a worker his life,” said OSHA Area Director Amanda Kupper in Denver in the press release. “Our investigation found that this employer willfully sent workers into unprotected trenches at a site with a history of cave-ins, and continued to expose workers to the same conditions even after the fatality.”
About the Author
Alex Saurman is a former Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety,who has since joined OH&S’s client services team. She continues to work closely with OH&S’s editorial team and contributes to the magazine.