TUMWATER — Stemilt Growers was fined more than $350,000 for safety violations after a worker in September 2023 was buried alive in a trench collapse last fall in Othello.
Workers under Stemilt Ag Services LLC were digging a trench more than five feet deep and about 25 to 30 feet long without any cave-in protection, according to a state Department of Labor & Industries news release.
The crew of 10 workers were repairing an irrigation pipe in the town south of Moses Lake when the trench caved in, burying one of the workers. It took 10 minutes to get the worker out of the trench, and afterward he had to be transported to the hospital with multiple injuries to his head, face and body, according to the news release.
“This could have easily ended in death, all because the employer chose to ignore rules to protect workers,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for state Department Labor & Industries Division of Occupational Safety and Health, in the news release.
The state fined Stemilt $353,000 and cited the company in March with five willful, serious violations:
- There was no protective system inside the trench to prevent a collapse.
- There was no ladder or way for the workers to get out of the trench within 25 feet of where they were working.
- The piles of dirt dug from the trench were not set back at least two feet away from the edge. Dirt piles too close to the trench can cause the walls to collapse.
- There was no one onsite with the knowledge needed to inspect the trench before workers went into it, and no training program for trenching and excavation work.
- Stemilt also changed the scene by filling in the trench after the cave-in before L&I inspectors arrived.
A serious violation is one where there is a “substantial probability” that a worker’s death or “serious physical harm” could occur due to hazardous conditions. And a willful violation means the employer knew or should have known the safety requirements but chose to ignore them, according to the news release. Stemilt is appealing the citation.
Stemilt has previously been fined for similar trenching issues. In 2021, L&I fined Stemilt $17,000 for violating the same trenching safety rules. After this latest citation in March, the company is now considered a “severe violator” which means Stemilt is subject to follow-up inspections.
