FAIRFAX, Va. (CN) - Noting that a Virginia demolition company's labor violations caused a trench to cave in and kill a worker, regulators have called for $22,800 in fines.
There is little detail about the Aug. 20, 2013, fatal trench collapse in McLean, Va., but a local news report that day quoted a county rescue worker as saying that the unidentified worker likely died within minutes of falling into the 15-foot trench.
One neighbor told the Patch reporter that the private home where the crew had been working, 1050 Kinglet Court, had been vacant for a year, but that the hole was being dug for utility work in preparation of new owners taking over the property.
Virginia's commissioner of labor and industry has now identified the company behind the incident as Tysons Service Corp.
Commissioner C. Ray Davenport says his office's inspection found that Tysons failed to provide a safe way to get out of the trench.
The company also failed to keep excavated material at least two feet away from the edge of the trench, and failed to notice indicators of a cave-in, according to the complaint Davenport filed on Aug. 7 in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Davenport issued Tysons citations for these three violations, as well as for failing to protect its employees in an excavation, on Feb. 19, 2014.
The agency issues serious citations only if substantial probability exists that illness or injuries resulting from labor violations are likely to result in death, according to the complaint.
Davenport notes that Tysons has contested the citations and the proposed $22,820 fine.
The owner of the company could not be immediately reached for comment.
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