[Markhamed]

I was doing some research on construction accidents when I came across the image of a body being removed. I searched for it and it appears that it doesn't yet exist on the site.

This image shows the body of 22 year old Patrick Walters being removed from the muck after the trench he was working in collapsed around him. This is a coroner's photo, apparently, released by Patrick's family. He suffocated. A horrible way to die, and unfortunately, a relatively common one. According to OSHA, 19 workers were killed in trench collapses in 2016, applying over a million dollars in fines. (And both numbers are significantly higher -- OSHA fails to upload a slew of summary reports).

You can read more about the incident here and here. It was a pretty big deal at the time, bringing to light some things regarding construction safety, because Patrick had repeatedly voiced his concerns about safety on the jobsite. They regularly failed to use a trench box, which is designed to keep the trench walls from caving in.

The OSHA report summary reads: "On June 14, 2002, Employee #1, was working for Moeves Plumbing finishing up a se wer tap lateral connection to Building #12 on Bending Branch Lane in Miamisburg, Ohio. The trench was approximately 9 ft deep and had not been sloped nor had an y other form of trench protection. The side walls of the excavation began to cav e followed by a cave in which could have been attributed to the equipment used f or the trench excavation. A rescue operation was initiated to save Employee #1, but it shortly turned into a recovery operation. Employee #1 was recovered from the trench and was pronounced dead at the recovery site. According to a local Da yton newspaper report, the Miamisburg area had 2.5 in. of rain the night before the accident." You can read the rest of the summary here.

The company Patrick worked for, Moeves Plumbing from Miamisburg, OH, was fined $42,500 for Patrick's death. Not nearly enough, in my opinion. Trench collapses are entirely preventable. Every business that causes a death in such a manner, in my opinion, should be liquidated and the owners themselves buried neck deep in sand so they can see what it feels like.

[mr_feelgood]

At least the company got to keep his last check

[kellyhound]

osha is a big load of crap when it comes to this case and probably more cases.

Both Walters and Marts believe that OSHA cut a special deal with Moeves in 2002 because she was a neighbor of OSHA area director Richard Gilchrist, a charge OSHA denies.

http://ehstoday.com/news/ehs_imp_37482

[Drastic85]

If OSHA or the government really cared, there would be mandatory inspections of any manufacturing facility, construction company, etc. I have been working in the mfg. and service industry for over twenty years and have yet to see a inspection. I did see an air quality inspection at a fire truck mfg. facility; but on that day the company shut down the welding and painting areas on purpose.

[EMason88]

OSHA is another government fund raising scheme that dose little to prevent innocents like this.

[Ferocity]

They were fined 42,500 but how much of that did the family see?
Personally I would think dying like this would rewards your family with several hundreds of thousands of dollars... Like, if I heard the family got 2.5 million dollars, I would be like... well that's better than nothin

[AceGoober]

There are much easier, and safer, ways of getting a facial mud mask to enhance their looks than this.

[Markhamed]

Originally Posted by Ferocity ↗

They were fined 42,500 but how much of that did the family see?
Personally I would think dying like this would rewards your family with several hundreds of thousands of dollars... Like, if I heard the family got 2.5 million dollars, I would be like... well that's better than nothin

None -- that all goes back to OSHA. No doubt the family sued. That's the only way they can recover. Theoretically it should be an easy win. And see, if you put me on that jury, I'm awarding the family the entire company.

[Razorhead]

Looks like a film scene.

[Sharon]

Good post

Shocks me how impersonal and corrupt businesses can be. And such a paltry fine for a young man's tragic death