The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries confirmed that a second investigation is still pending into the June 3 incident near Woodland in which the bucket of an excavator fell on a trench worker.
The nearly $14,000 in fines and fees it lodged against Vancouver-based Rotschy Inc. last week for violations at a job site in the 1900 block of Lewis Road in Woodland is the conclusion of only one investigation involving confined space violations, L&I spokesperson Dina Lorraine clarified in a follow-up email to The Daily News Monday.
A second investigation surrounding the circumstances at the job site on June 3, when a worker was airlifted with serious injuries when the bucket of an excavator fell on him, is a separate investigation that is still pending.
“There were two inspections at the Woodland site within a few weeks of each other,” Lorraine told The Daily News in an email Monday. “One has closed; but the other is still open.”
The Daily News asked L&I about the investigation into the worker injury on Thursday, and whether it was ongoing.
”No. We only issue the citation when the inspection is complete,” Lorraine said at the time.
Lorraine clarified Monday that the investigation at 1920 Lewis River Rd. near Woodland was one of two investigations opened that month. The complaint with $13,770 in violations was opened on June 24, and focused on five serious violations stemming from a confined space investigation.
The citation lists violations for failing to identify and evaluate hazards before entering a permit-required confined space; that the company failed to complete an entry permit; that the company failed to ensure adequate rescue and emergency services were available; that the company “did not ensure that entry supervisors were aware of hazards”; and that the company failed to ensure attendants above knew of the hazardous conditions and their duties.
The worker injury investigation was opened June 3. Lorraine provided few details about it because it is still open other than “it has to do with the excavator bucket falling on the worker.”
