Caught-in and caught-between accidents occur when workers are trapped, crushed, or compressed by equipment, materials, or collapsing structures. These incidents include trench cave-ins, machinery entanglement, and being caught between moving and stationary objects. Caught-in accidents frequently cause fatal injuries or permanent disabilities including amputations and crush syndrome. Understanding liability helps victims pursue claims against contractors and others who failed to prevent these serious accidents.
Types of Caught-In Accidents
Trench collapses trap workers under tons of soil, causing suffocation, crush injuries, and death. One cubic yard of soil weighs approximately 3,000 pounds, and collapsed trenches can bury workers within seconds. OSHA requires protective systems for trenches deeper than five feet precisely because cave-in hazards are so deadly.
Equipment entanglement occurs when workers are caught in rotating parts, gears, or moving machinery without adequate guarding. Clothing, hair, or body parts pulled into unguarded equipment cause amputations, degloving injuries, and death. Lockout/tagout failures during maintenance expose workers to moving equipment hazards.
Crush injuries happen when workers are caught between moving and stationary objects—between a vehicle and a wall, between crane loads and structures, or between equipment components. Limited clearances and unexpected equipment movement cause these compression injuries.
Collapsing structure accidents trap workers under falling walls, scaffolds, or other structural elements. Premature removal of bracing or shoring, structural overloading, and inadequate temporary support cause collapses that may injure multiple workers.
OSHA Trench Safety Requirements
Protective systems are required for all trenches five feet deep or greater. Acceptable protection includes sloping or benching trench walls, shoring to brace walls, or shielding using trench boxes. The specific method depends on soil type and site conditions.
Competent person requirements mandate that someone trained in trench hazards inspect excavations daily and after events that could affect stability. The competent person must have authority to stop work when hazards exist and must remove workers from dangerous trenches.
Access and egress requirements ensure workers can escape trenches quickly. Ladders, ramps, or stairs must be within 25 feet of workers in trenches. During emergencies, rapid exit capability can mean the difference between escape and entrapment.
Spoil pile placement rules require excavated materials to be kept at least two feet from trench edges. Spoil piles too close to trenches add weight that increases collapse risk and block emergency access.
Machine Guarding Requirements
Point of operation guards protect workers where machinery performs its function—cutting, shearing, punching, or forming. Guards must prevent hands and other body parts from entering danger zones.
Power transmission guards cover gears, pulleys, belts, and other components that transfer power. Rotating equipment can grab loose clothing or hair and pull workers into machinery faster than they can react.
Lockout/tagout procedures require de-energizing and securing equipment during maintenance and repair. Workers performing maintenance on energized equipment face caught-in hazards from unexpected startup. LOTO procedures prevent these accidents when properly followed.
Liability for Caught-In Accidents
General contractors who control excavation work often bear liability for trench collapse injuries. GCs who fail to ensure protective systems are in place, who pressure subcontractors to work unsafely, or who ignore obvious hazards face substantial liability.
Excavation subcontractors bear direct responsibility for trench safety in their work areas. Subcontractors who fail to provide required shoring, slope trenches properly, or designate competent persons act negligently.
Equipment manufacturers face product liability when inadequate guarding or defective safety devices cause caught-in accidents. Machines without proper guards, with defeatable safety interlocks, or lacking emergency stops may be defectively designed.
Property owners may face liability for known excavation hazards, particularly when they control site conditions or pressure contractors to rush work unsafely.
Injuries from Caught-In Accidents
Crush syndrome occurs when compression injuries release toxins that can cause kidney failure and death even after rescue. Prolonged entrapment creates systemic injuries beyond local trauma. Medical treatment for crush syndrome requires specialized intervention.
Amputations result when limbs caught in machinery cannot be freed without surgical removal. Traumatic amputations occur at the moment of entrapment while surgical amputations follow failed attempts to save entrapped limbs.
Asphyxiation kills trench collapse victims when soil compresses their chests preventing breathing, or when they are completely buried. Minutes of burial can cause death even if workers are eventually freed.
Conclusion
Caught-in accidents cause devastating injuries that OSHA safety requirements are specifically designed to prevent. When contractors fail to provide trench protection, properly guard machinery, or follow lockout/tagout procedures, they bear liability for resulting injuries. Third-party claims against negligent contractors and equipment manufacturers provide compensation beyond workers comp for these serious accidents.