NC trench collapse death leads to hefty penalties against local construction company
The North Carolina Department of Labor fined a construction company for a trench collapse that killed a worker.
The collapse of the 10-foot deep trench at an Alexander County shopping center in May killed 38-year-old Taylorsville resident Shane Anthony Sharpe, McClatchy News reported at the time.
Crews were working on a drainage line, according to WSOC and the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office.
“The sheriff says the sides started caving in, trapping the worker,” Spectrum News reporter Rose Eiklor wrote on Twitter.
First responders removed dirt surrounding Sharpe and performed CPR, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The collapse occurred in a parking lot outside Big D’s Diner & Country Store on Highway 64/90, multiple media outlets reported. That’s about 65 miles northwest of Charlotte.
After a six-month investigation, the N.C. Department of Labor levied $39,200 in penalties against the contractor on the job, Barnes Backhoe & Grading Inc., the department announced Wednesday.
The state cited the company “for one alleged willful serious violation and four alleged serious violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina,” department spokeswoman Natalie Bouchard said in an email.
Attempts by The Charlotte Observer on Saturday to reach the company were unsuccessful. The company’s voice mailbox was full and wasn’t accepting messages.
The maximum penalty for each serious violation is $7,000, and for a willful serious violation, $70,000, Bouchard said.
“The General Statutes say that the Labor Department has to take into consideration various factors such as the gravity of the violation, the size of the business, the good faith and cooperation of the employer, and the history of previous violations,” Bouchard wrote in the email.
“The penalties are in no way designed to make up for loss of life,” she said.
By law, money from such citations goes to a civil penalty and forfeiture fund, with monies distributed to public school systems, according to Bouchard.
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 11:46 AM.