Feds fine Bigfork company

The Daily Inter Lake

A Bigfork excavation company has been fined $76,000 for failing to meet workplace safety standards.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an investigation into Zavala Excavating and Orchard, Inc. after an October accident in which an employee was buried whean the trench he was working in collapsed.

The company was cited for failing to provide an adequate system to protect workers from cave-ins, exposing employees to falling dirt and rocks while they worked in trenches, not having a person trained in OSHA's trenching requirements on hand to correct hazards, not training employees in the hazards associated with trenching, and not requiring workers to wear protective helmets.

The accident occurred the afternoon of Oct. 17. Abel Morillon, 31, was installing a sewer line near the Outback Montana RV Park & Campground on Montana 35 in Bigfork when one side of the ditch collapsed, trapping him for as long as 10 minutes.

Another man was working nearby at that time, but didn't witness the cave-in, officials said.

A trench box is required when digging deeper than 5 feet, according to OSHA regulations. Investigators found trenches at the work site as deep as 12 feet.

Morillon was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center, where he remained unresponsive in the intensive care unit.

He has since been moved to a rehabilitation center in Coeur d'Alene, according to a hospital spokesman.