An employee working on the outside of a bridge abutment in a 12-15’ trench in Millville, Pennsylvania died when the adjacent trench wall collapsed, burying him in soil. The worker was in the trench shoveling soil off the base of the abutment wall because it was not reachable by an excavator.

The victim’s employer, Susquehanna Supply Company Inc., of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is bridge repair and construction company  that was contracted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to rehabilitate a small steel-frame bridge over a creek.

After an investigation into the July 2015 accident, OSHA issued the company  citations for two willful violations and placed it in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program* due to the willful violations cited for lack of cave-in protection.

The company has an extensive OSHA history of violations dating back to the early 1970s.

Proposed penalties: $140,000