The prior section explaining how Paras damaged a neighbor's home is not the only excavation problem in Paras's record. On the Fort Lewis army base Paras was cited for exposing workers to potential cave-ins when they were enlarging the hole for a footing after the rebar was placed. This hazard is serious because the exposed worker could suffer "broken bones or potential organ damage due to crushing" according to the citation. The safety inspector questioned the person responsible for inspecting the excavation. It was determined that he was not competent because he "did not know soil types, how to determine soil types, sloping or the duties of a competent person."
The worst part of this misadventure is that the risk was unnecessary. The generally accepted construction practice is to dig the footing holes the correct size before the rebar is placed. Somebody should have told them to measure twice, dig once. With a history like this, one has to question if Paras is even qualified to dig holes.
View a copy of the OSHA citation online...>
