Contractor Fined $283K After House Foundation Falls On, Kills Worker

A Massachusetts contractor faces proposed penalties of $283,115 for nine violations after an employee was killed when a house foundation collapsed.

Gerceir Osvaldo DeFaria, 51, was working in a trench that was 5 to 6 feet deep February 7 in Hanson, Massachusetts. The trench had been dug underneath a house foundation, and part of the foundation broke and fell on DeFaria, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

DeFaria’s employer, Aleckssandro Tomaz Pereira of Woburn, had instructed him “to enter the unprotected trench to prepare a foundation wall for waterproofing and dig out an area underneath the wall to install concrete footings,” OSHA reports. It took three hours for rescue workers to recover DeFaria's body. He leaves behind a wife and two children ages 17 and 24, according to news reports.

Pereira is the operator of three waterproofing contracting companies: Boston Concrete Corp LLC, VMT Contractor LLC, and Boston Concrete and Remodeling LLC.

“Aleckssandro Tomaz Pereira should never have placed workers in this trench until the excavation and the building’s foundation were guarded against collapse, workers were properly trained, water was removed from the trench and an exit ladder was provided,” said OSHA Area Director James Mulligan in Braintree, Massachusetts. “This tragedy was entirely preventable.”

Pereira faces the following OSHA violations:

(A serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation. A willful violation is when the employer intentionally ignores the safety rules.)

• Caught-between hazard – soil under the house's foundation was removed and the structure was not supported to protect against collapse. $104,859.95; willful violation.
• Excavating below base of foundation – the employer did not ensure the employee working in the unprotected trench did not dig beneath the base of the unsupported foundation walls. $104,859.95; willful.
• No cave-in protection – $10,485.15, serious
• Accumulated water in trench – $10,485.15, serious
• Spoil pile within 2 feet of trench edge – $10,485.15, serious
• Employees not trained to avoid hazards – three serious violations at $10,485.15 each.
• No safe exit from trench – $10,485.15, serious.