Death at Brockton Hospital highlights dangers of construction trenches. What we found out
BROCKTON — Roger Porter died working in a trench. Workers' advocates say it's one of the most common — and preventable — types of construction accidents.
Porter, 63, of East Sandwich, was leveling gravel in an 8-foot-deep pit at Brockton Hospital on June 13 when a skid-steer loader driven by his coworker fell into the trench, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office said.
Year-in and year-out, construction tops the list of industries with the most worker fatalities. Falls from heights and off of ladders account for many of these deaths. Trenches can be one of the most dangerous places to work on a construction site, said Sean C. Flaherty, a lawyer specializing in workers' compensation. Nationwide, 39 workers died in 2022 while trenching or excavating, said Scott Ketcham, the director of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's Construction Directorate, in a recent blog post. That's up from 15 in 2021.
Porter's family has hired Flaherty, so he didn't want to speak directly about the case. But he's taken to trial or settled numerous trench cases, and agreed to speak about them in general.
Trenching accidents are 'highly preventable'
As soon as a worker is below ground level, they may potentially be doing trench work. It could be prepping a foundation or running pipe, conduit or wire. Flaherty said that whether a construction site is above or below ground, safety must be first.
"It is unequivocally the most important thing that needs to be accounted for on any construction site," he said.
Excavations 5 feet deep or more must use one of the following protective systems, according to OSHA:
Slope the ground
Bench the ground
Shore up the trench with supports like planks or hydraulic jacks
Shield the trench with a trench box
OSHA previously confirmed it's investigating the subcontractor at the Brockton Hospital incident, LMA of Stoughton. The firm's only previous OSHA investigation was for a slip-and-fall on ice in 2022.
However, the buck stops with the general contractor in charge of a given site, Flaherty said.
"The GC job is non-delegable to provide a safe working environment on the job," said Flaherty, who worked as a Local 7 Ironworker before falling from a lift.
After getting injured he went to law school.
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Flaherty's advice to construction workers who get hurt on the job is simple.
"If they don't feel as though they're being dealt with when they're injured the way they were when they were working, then that's not right," he said. "They should be dealt with respect."
Al Vega, chief of strategy and engagement at the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health, said employers should follow guidelines from safety experts.
"Unfortunately, fatal trenching accidents continue to afflict working communities throughout the United States, even though they are highly preventable," Vega said in a press release about Porter's death. "Workers like Roger deserve to return home from work each day and not be severely injured or killed on the job simply trying to provide for themselves and their families.
Jeremy Carroll, a lawyer who is also representing Porter's family, did not want to speak to the specifics of the case. Carroll told the Cape Cod Times that "Mr. Porter was a very loved man with an extensive family." He said later that the family didn't want to be contacted, though.
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A hazard for workers — and children
While most trenching accidents involve construction workers, they aren't the only people endangered by open pits. One of the most tragic such cases was the death of 4-year-old Jaclyn Elizabeth Moore of Bridgewater. She and her 8-year-old brother fell into an open, unsecured 30-foot-long drainage trench in their neighbor's yard in 1999. Her older brother dug himself out but Jaclyn wasn't strong enough to escape.
"I’m extremely angry," Jaclyn’s father, John F. Moore, told the Taunton Daily Gazette in 2000 on the one-year anniversary of the incident. "It shouldn’t have happened. If basic precautions would have been used this wouldn’t have occurred."
The family settled a lawsuit against the company responsible for the trench, Little Dryden Enterprises of East Bridgewater, owned by Warren Bush.
Notable trenching deaths
Aug. 20, 1999 — Jaclyn Elizabeth Moore, 4, of Bridgewater buried alive in an unsecured construction trench in a neighbor's yard.
Oct. 21, 2016 — Brockton's Kelvin "Chuck" Mattocks, 53, and Warren, R.I.'s Robert Higgins, 47, drowned when a construction trench flooded in Boston's South End. Kevin Otto, the owner of the company they worked for, was sentenced to two years in prison for manslaughter.
June 13, 2023 — Roger Porter, 63, of East Sandwich, died in an 8-foot-deep trench at Brockton Hospital after a coworker's skid-steer loader fell into the pit.
Worker safety bills on Beacon Hill
Brockton's legislative delegation to Beacon Hill has pushed several worker safety bills in recent years. They include a 2017 effort by State Rep. Michelle DuBois, D-Brockton, specifically to buttress trenching safety. DuBois did not return multiple calls seeking updates about her worker safety bills.
Under debate this summer is a workplace safety bill whose co-sponsors include DuBois and State Rep. Rita Mendes, D-Brockton. It would require employers to report workplace injuries within 24 hours or pay a fine of $100 per day to the injured employee. A separate bill in the State Senate would require contractors to disclose OSHA violations or settlements when applying for trenching permits.
Flaherty, the lawyer, said plaintiff's attorneys are pushing several changes to Massachusetts law around workers' comp. Among them is a bill about scarring and disfigurement. There's also an effort to hike the amount of money doctors are able to be reimbursed. Those figures haven't changed since the 1990s, he said.
Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton Hospital trench construction accident killed Roger Porter
