Washington Excavating Company Fined $140K After Inspector Stops Trench Collapse
Clark County contractor cited for repeated trench safety violations; quick action prevented potential tragedy.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Sep 19, 2025
A Clark County excavating company has been fined $140,500 after a state inspector intervened to stop a trench from collapsing on workers earlier this year.
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) inspector Tyler Barrick was driving past a construction site in Ridgefield when he saw employees working in a 12-foot-deep trench. As he approached, he photographed workers pulling colleagues out of the trench by hand because the ladder on site was too short to reach the surface.
Although a trench box was present, it was undersized and left space for the walls to cave in. Barrick reported seeing the trench collapse an estimated 20 times while he was at the site. Dirt repeatedly spilled into the trench, widening it from about six feet to nearly 15 feet and straining the trench box and nearby supports.
“All of the necessary safety equipment was on site; it just wasn’t used. If our inspector had not come along, this could have easily ended in tragedy,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
L&I cited Clark County Excavating & General Contracting for five willful serious violations, including failure to protect workers from cave-ins, inadequate ladders and walkways, and failure to remove workers when the trench showed signs of collapse. The company has operated for 35 years and has a history of safety violations, including seven serious citations from two previous inspections in the past three years.
Since January 2023, L&I has inspected more than 465 trenching and excavation sites, citing nearly 400 employers. Officials said that while trenching remains one of the most hazardous construction activities, Washington has not recorded a trench-related death in the past three years.
Clark County Excavating is appealing the citations.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.