Contractor fined $283,115 in trench death
- June 7, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Workers Comp
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Monday fined a Massachusetts waterproofing contractor $283,115 for violations of trenching requirements it said led to a worker’s death.
Gerceir Osvaldo DeFaria was killed in February when part of a house foundation broke and fell on him while he was in a trench, according to an OSHA investigation.
The agency said the employer, Aleckssandro Tomaz Pereira of Woburn, Massachusetts — operating as Boston Concrete Corp., VMT Contractor and Boston Concrete and Remodeling — exposed employees to cave-in, caught-between and structural collapse hazards by failing to protect the trench and the building foundation.
OSHA said its investigators determined that the employer instructed Mr. DeFaria to enter the unprotected trench to prepare the foundation for waterproofing and dig out an area under the wall to install concrete footings.
The agency also said the company failed to ensure that workers in a trench did not dig beneath the base of unsupported foundation walls; train workers to recognize and avoid structural collapse hazards, train workers on operating an excavator; provide a safe means of exiting a trench; and prevent water from accumulating in a trench.
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