Construction Worker Dies After Trench Collapses Around Him
According to WRDW, a construction worker was fatally injured on the job after a trench collapsed on top of him in Columbia County, Georgia, on Thursday afternoon.
Workplace Accident Details
Joshua Price, 25, was assisting with a plumbing job at a Riverwood Plantation residence at around 3:00 p.m. local time when the construction accident occurred. Officials say Price was working in a trench when it collapsed, completely covering him in dirt.
A nearby resident said fellow workers were scrambling around, asking residents in the area for shovels or anything that could be used to free the trapped worker, according to WRDW. By the time the workers returned to the site, Price had passed away. The Columbia County coroner says Price died due to suffocation.
WRDW reports that Price worked for Hardy Plumbing Company out of Harlem, Georgia. The company specializes in extreme utility construction where extreme depths are involved. It is currently unclear if all of the proper safety procedures and measures were followed prior to the fatal work accident.
On the Job Accident Statistics
The following information is provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):
- 4,821 workers died on the job in 2014.
- On average, more than 92 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.
- Worker deaths in America are down on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2014.
- Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 17 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2014.
- One in five worker deaths in 2014 were in the construction industry.
