Township of Grosse Ile Faces Most Severe Citation Issued for Workplace Death

The Township of Grosse Ile faces the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (MiOSHA) most severe citation possible--a willful serious citation.

The Grosse Ile Department of Public Services received a willful citation amounting to $49,000 for an incident that took place on Jan. 24 in which township employee James Farrell was buried alive when attempting to fix a broken water main. He died four days later at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Willful serious citations indicate a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety, according to the OSHA website.

A report presented to the township alleged a trench dug to fix the water main was not properly secured with a trench box or shoring system, which would have significantly reduced the likelihood of the walls collapsing around Farrell.

A 6 feet by 6 feet by 4 feet section from the east side of the trench collapsed onto Farrell, according to the report. Farrell remained buried under soil, water and clay for about 14 minutes before he was pulled from the trench.

The trench was 17 feet by 5 feet by 8 and one-half feet and cut vertically 90 degrees on the east side and 78 degrees on the west side.

Patricia Meyer, director of the construction and safety health division at MiOSHA, said the degree of cuts were not nearly enough to provide a safe slope for workers.

"They should have used a trench box or cut the appropriate slope," Meyer said.

A willful citation can be up to $70,000. The citation issued to the township was reduced due to the relatively low number of people employed by the township.

MiOSHA also issued the township three serious citations for:

1. Not having a developed, maintained and implemented accident prevention program; in the amount of $3,500.
2. Employees not wearing head protection while working around excavation equipment and in an excavation 8 and one-half feet deep; in the amount of $3,500.
3. Not storing the spoils pile--material removed from the trench--at least two feet away from the excavation where employees were entering and working bent over; in the amount of $3,500.

A serious citation is issued when there is a substantial probability of serious injury or death.

*Look to Trenton-Grosse Ile Patch for updates on the investigation into James Farrell's death.

For the latest Trenton and Grosse Ile news and information, "like" Trenton-Grosse Ile Patch on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our daily newsletter.