Cal/OSHA Investigation under way for Construction Worker Death

The hole into which construction worker Alejandro Valladares fell before meeting his death in Hermosa Beach on March 10 is at the center of an investigation now underway by state worker safety regulators.

Valladares, 29, fell from a piece of equipment he was operating and into a large hole, where he was immediately buried by a heavy mixture of soil and clay. He died of asphyxiation, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner.

because an excavation permit had not been procured, said Erika Monterroza, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Any employer who has employees digging trenches or holes that are five feet or deeper and “into which a person is required to descend,” must first obtain permits from the state Division of Occupational Health Safety, also known as Cal/OSHA, Monterroza said.

Valladares was employed by David B. Shaw Concrete and Block, where he had worked since November of 2002. Shaw said he did not seek a Cal/OSHA permit for the hole where Valladares died because he did not know it was required.

“I have all the necessary permits that the city required me to get and I had no idea that I needed to have a permit from Cal/OSHA,” Shaw said in an interview at his headquarters in Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday. “We’re a concrete contractor, but we excavate in the course of our business all the time.”

Shaw said that in 35 years of business he has never had a workplace death. As far as injuries are concerned, he said he has had about six back injuries, a couple broken fingers and some cuts and scrapes.

Shaw said his workers drill piles “that are deep all the time, but there’s no men that go in them.” The state investigation may take up to six months. If violations are found, Shaw could face citations and penalties.