Coroner's Finding: Timothy Jon Haynes
Deceased
Timothy Jon Haynes
Date of death
2009-05-14
Finding date
2010-12-08
Cause of death
Traumatic asphyxia as a result of being buried by soil and a steel beam following the collapse of an unsupported trench wall
AI-generated summary
Timothy Jon Haynes died on 14 May 2009 in East Maitland, NSW, when a trench wall collapsed during excavation work, causing him to be buried by soil and a steel beam. He died from traumatic asphyxia. The coroner found the death resulted from an unsupported trench wall that lacked adequate shoring, benching, or battering systems. WorkCover identified multiple preventable failures: absence of qualified engineering consultation, no geotechnical analysis, insufficient expertise in soil stability assessment, and inadequate safety controls around the excavation. The investigation revealed that proper implementation of the Code of Practice for Excavation Work could have prevented this death. WorkCover recommended that excavation work must include: adherence to the Code of Practice; proper shoring and benching systems; measures to prevent material placement at excavation edges; and perimeter fencing to control access.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Unsupported trench wall
- Absence of adequate shoring, benching, or battering systems
- Lack of qualified engineering consultation
- No geotechnical analysis undertaken
- Insufficient expertise in soil stability
- Inadequate safety measures and hazard control
- No competent person supervision of excavation work
Coroner's recommendations
- Persons undertaking excavation work must follow the Code of Practice for Excavation Work, particularly section 3.1 on prevention of collapse or failure of trenches and excavations
- Seek advice from qualified engineers and undertake geotechnical analysis before commencing excavation
- Engage a competent person to supervise excavation work where risk assessment identifies unstable conditions
- Ensure adequate system of shoring, benching, or battering to control risks from fall or dislodgement of earth and rock, instability of excavation, inrush of water, and placement of excavated material
- Ensure no materials are placed, stacked, or moved near the edge of excavation work so as to cause collapse
- Control unauthorised access to excavations by providing adequate perimeter fencing
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