Within the workplace, one usually achieves a sense of comfort and safety, especially after working at a particular job for a certain amount of time. Once a person is familiar with her work tasks, knows what is expected of her and is familiar with her co-workers, a person tends to settle in.
For those who work in jobs that sometimes take place in unusual or even potentially dangerous work conditions, a person must be on high alert at all times. This is because sometimes jobs do not always go according to plan, and a Pittsburgh worker could be hurt or even killed in the aftermath.
A 21-year-old sewer line worker felt the brunt of such a terrible situation last week. His job for the day was to work on a sewer line trench that had been dug down 12 feet. Inexplicably, the trench collapsed with the worker inside, causing a workplace death. Rescuers worked for hours to recover his body.
Sadly, this man and his family had the shock of their lives when their son did not return home that day. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced that they are investigating the worker’s tragic death.
Not many details have been released concerning why the trench collapsed, but if OSHA is involved, the organization will try to get to the bottom of the tragedy. OSHA is the federal administration that oversees the enforcement of workplace safety regulations and imposes penalties for violations that may occur within the workplace.
OSHA does not have the ability or the resources to investigate every workplace injury or death. However, its regulations have governed how employers must remedy a situation if they are believed to be at fault. A company could be held accountable if the worker was subject to unsafe working conditions that caused his or her unforeseen death. This family will hopefully have a better idea of the cause of this tragic accident after OSHA’s investigation.
Source: ncnewsonline.com, “OSHA, coroner investigate Pennsylvania worker’s trench death,” Sept. 29, 2015