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A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Glenburn, Maine general contractor ignored an onsite expert’s repeated warnings and the company’s own site-specific safety plan prior to an incident in which an employee suffered fatal crushing injuries when an unbraced retaining wall collapsed at a Brownville worksite.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) determined two workers employed by Patriot Paving Group LLC were installing storm drainage pipes in a three-to-four-foot-deep trench in June 2024. At the same time, company owner, Clifford Lane, used an excavator near the retaining wall’s base, which destabilized it and caused a 40-to-60-foot-long section of the wall to tip over, according to OSHA. One worker escaped but the other worker was killed.

According to OSHA investigators, Lane knew the wall next to the trench was unstable, but did not use necessary protective systems or evacuate employees. The continuing excavation created clear and imminent dangers.

After its investigation, OSHA the company for five willful violations and proposed penalties of $161,325 for not bracing the retaining wall and exposing employees to struck-by and/or caught between hazards; failing to remove employees from the trench after it was determined to be hazardous; and not training or instructing three employees in the hazards associated with trench activities.

The company has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before OSHA’s independent review commission.

Patriot Paving Group LLC is a site preparation and general contractor specializing in residential and commercial paving, excavation and stormwater drainage work.

Topics Workers' Compensation Contractors