Frisco utility contractor cited for willful exposure to deadly safety hazards after fatal trench collapse

DALLAS — The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a Frisco utility contractor after it was found they failed to follow mandatory workplace safety standards by allowing two workers to enter a trench with no protective system. 

While workers were digging the trench to repair a main sewer line, the trench collapsed — fatally engulfing one of the employees.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators responded to the accident on June 24 and found Bandera Utility Contractors Inc. had willfully violated federal law by failing to have a trench protective system in place. The U.S. Department of Labor said the company also failed to inspect the trench at the start of every shift before allowing employees to work in the excavation. 

“Bandera Utility Contractor Inc. ignored federal safety requirements and sent these workers into an unprotected trench. Now, a worker’s family, friends and co-workers are left to grieve this tragic, and avoidable, loss,” said OSHA Area Director Basil Singh in a prepared statement. “Incidents like this are inexcusable and can be avoided by following well-established processes that comply with OSHA standards.”

One cubic yard of soil can weigh up to 3,000 pounds, the weight of a small car, and trenches can collapse in seconds. 

OSHA reports 35 workers have died in trenching and excavation work through November 2022, more than double the number in all of 2021. Between 2011 and 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported trench collapses caused 166 deaths. 

Bandera Utility Contractors has 15 business days from receipt of citation and penalties to comply, contest the findings or request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director.