The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced an investigation into a backhoe accident at a construction site in Moorpark, California. A worker was injured, when the backhoe struck an underground power line, triggering a flash and knocking off power to thousands of Southern California Edison customers.
According to Moorpark police, the accident occurred when a backhoe struck the power line, which is located about 70 feet below the surface of the ground. The power line exploded and the worker, a spotter for the back hoe operator, suffered burn injuries. He was rushed to a Thousand Oaks Hospital, and was later released. The incident also triggered a major power outage to approximately 3,300 Moorpark residents.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, its Ventura office has opened an investigation into the incident. The agency is taking particular interest because this incident involves burn injuries. The investigation will probe whether any violations of federal occupational safety regulations occurred here, and if any fines or penalties are required in this case. There is still some confusion about who was the exact operator of the backhoe. According to Moorpark police, it is a company called Bottenfield Construction from Valencia, while according to Cal OSHA, it is a company called Blois Construction in Oxnard.
Not surprisingly to California construction accident lawyers, both these companies have now begun a finger pointing exercise. According to Bottenfield Construction, it had nothing to do with the incident, because all backhoe operations were being conducted by Blois Construction. However, according to the latter, it had been subcontracted by Bottenfield Construction. Blois insists that it was in compliance with all safety precautions at the time of the incident.
