Department of Labor finds Glenburn contractor ignored repeated warnings, site-specific safety plan in fatal trench collapse at Brownville worksite

AUGUSTA, ME – A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Glenburn general contractor’s decisions to ignore an onsite expert’s repeated warnings and the company’s own site-specific safety plan led to a fatal incident in June 2024. An employee suffered fatal crushing injuries when an unbraced retaining wall collapsed at a Brownville worksite.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined two workers employed by Patriot Paving Group LLC were installing storm drainage pipes in a three-to-four-foot-deep trench. 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. One worker escaped but the other worker suffered fatal injuries.

OSHA investigators determined 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 cited the company for five willful violations and proposed penalties of $161,325 for the following conditions: 

• 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.
• Not training or instructing three employees in the hazards associated with trench activities.

“The warnings were clear, yet Clifford Lane chose to ignore them, putting progress before safety and putting employees directly in harm’s way,” said OSHA Area Director Samuel Kondrup in Augusta, Maine. “There is no excuse for so callously endangering workers’ lives.”  

OSHA is currently implementing a National Emphasis Program in Trenching and Excavation focusing on enforcement and education to identify and reduce hazards that pose a risk of serious injuries or fatalities in these operations. 

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

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.