A Houston, Texas-area contractor is facing more than a quarter million dollars in fines after a federal investigation found the company’s willful regard for required safety procedures contributed to a teenager’s death when a a 15-foot trench wall collapsed on him near Fulshear in September 2023.
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that Hurtado Construction Co. allowed the 18-year-old to work in the excavation without a proper protective system in place to prevent its collapse. The young worker suffered fatal injuries when the trench wall caved in, and tons of dirt pinned him against a reinforced concrete box.
The company was previously cited in November 2021 for failing to use an adequate protective system to prevent employees from a potentially deadly collapse at another excavation worksite in Katy, continuing a history of workplace safety failures that includes eight OSHA citations for not providing required protective systems after another worker fatality in January 2007.
The contractor faces $257,000 in proposed penalties for its violations. Headquartered in Richmond, Texas, Hurtado Construction provides water, sewer and stormwater line installations and repair.
Source: OSHA
Topics Texas Contractors
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Georgia Republicans Move to Scrap State Income Tax by 2032 Despite Concerns 
Nearly Half of 100 Largest P/C Insurers Destroy Value: ACORD 
Tesla Door Design Is Targeted by New US Automotive Safety Bill 
Law Firm Faces Sanctions for Failing to Vet Ugandan Claims in $6B 3M Case 
