KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA has started a new investigation after a worker was injured in a Blue Springs trench on Monday.
The unidentified worker was struck by the bucket of a backhoe while he was in the trench.
According to OSHA Spokesman Scott Allen, the injured worker is currently hospitalized with a broken leg.
Allen said C & C Ditching and Grading is the company responsible for digging the trench for the plumbing job. That company has no prior history of OSHA violations or penalties.
A truck at the scene also said Bright Plumbing. The 41 Action News Investigators placed a call to that company. A man who identified himself as Jake declined to comment on the incident.
According to Assistant Chief Eddie Saffel with the Central Jackson County Fire Department, the backhoe's bucket struck the worker.
Central Jackson County Fire Department Assistant Chief Eddie Saffel also said there was no shoring to prevent the trench from collapsing.
And he said the worker wasn't wearing a helmet when the fire department came to rescue him so one was sent down to him.
OSHA standards include having some type of shield, shoring or sloping of the trench when it's more than five feet deep.
Saffel estimates the trench where the rescue took place is 15 feet deep.
OSHA also recommends a warning system when equipment like a backhoe is being used near the trench edge because the operator may not have a complete view of the trench.
By law, OSHA has six months to complete its investigation.
