OSHA cites Nixa contractor

Holbrook Top Line Plumbing, which is not registered with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, received four citations from OSHA for the morning collapse. Patrick Coen, 54, was laying sewer pipe for a new home in the Irongate subdivision when the trench walls caved in on him, according to an OSHA report.

Coen was rescued by nearby construction workers and emergency personnel who rushed him to a Springfield hospital. He had several broken bones.

The company was cited for:

• not having a safe means of egress for an employee working in a trench at least 4 feet deep;

• not placing the spoil pile, which contained large rocks, at least 2 feet from the edge of the trench;

• not having it inspected within 24 hours of digging it; and

• failing to install benching, sloping or another protective system in a trench at least 5 feet deep.

OSHA fined Top Line a total of $3,150 for the violations, but the company was only required to pay half the amount through an expedited settlement agreement, said OSHA Area Director Barb Theriot.

The business had no history with OSHA.

“This company was very cooperative with us,” Theriot said, noting that the small company was “devastated” by the construction accident.

Top Line owner Scott Holbrook declined comment but did say Coen is “doing just fine.”[[In-content Ad]]