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In Massachusetts, Contractor Faces $57,000 in U.S. Labor Department OSHA Fines for Cave-in Hazard at Braintree, Mass., Jobsite

BRAINTREE, Mass. - Liddell Brothers Inc., a Halifax, Mass., contractor, faces $57,000 in proposed fines from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a cave-in hazard at a jobsite located on Route 3 northbound in Braintree.

The company was cited for six alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards following an OSHA inspection begun when an OSHA inspector driving by the jobsite observed an employee working in an apparently unprotected excavation.

The inspection found that the eight-foot deep excavation lacked any protective system to prevent a collapse of its sidewalls. OSHA standards require that all excavations five feet or deeper must be protected against cave-ins since their walls can collapse suddenly and with great force, crushing and burying employees beneath soil and debris.

As a result, OSHA issued Liddell Brothers a willful citation, carrying a $42,000 fine, for the lack of cave-in protection. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.

OSHA also issued the company five serious citations, with $15,000 in fines, for accessing the excavation by having an employee ride in the bucket of an excavator, placing excavated materials too close to the edge of the excavation, undermined roadway and guardrail adjacent to the excavation, lack of head protection, and inadequately inspecting the excavation and adjacent area for cave-in hazards. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"The potential for death or serious injury at this jobsite was real and present," said Brenda Gordon, OSHA's area director in Braintree. "While the employee was lucky that no collapse occurred, excavation safety must not, and can never be, a matter of luck or chance. Proper safeguards must be in place and in use at all times."

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