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LADONTE MCCRUTER, 30
DAY LABORER, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
WORKING IN AN UNPROTECTED TRENCH; SUFFOCATED WHEN IT COLLAPSED
LaDonte McCruter was a day laborer, known for his plumbing skills, described by those who
knew him as a “kind man with a quick smile.”
He died all too quickly on August 31, 2014, when working in a 12-foot trench at a
construction site in Birmingham, Alabama. McCruter, hired as a temporary worker by a
subcontractor, was working to connect the plumbing for a new home to a main city sewer
line. He was buried when the trench around him collapsed, leaving him covered in dirt and
unable to breathe. Rescuers spent six hours trying to save his life. But there was “too much
dirt to move and too little time,” according to a report from WCIV-TV.
Excavation is one of the most hazardous operations in the construction industry, claiming an average of two lives a
month, reports OSHA. Unstable walls can cave in suddenly, posing great risk to workers. OSHA safety regulations
require specific protections for any trench or excavation site deeper than five feet: either sloping of trench walls,
shoring up the trench with aluminum hydraulics or other supports, or shielding workers with a protective trench
box.
McCruter’s employers ignored these rules – and he lost his life as a result. Joshua Dailey, the subcontractor who
hired McCruter as a day laborer, was charged with willful and serious safety violations following an OSHA
investigation. Bates Construction, the prime contractor that hired Dailey, was charged with a serious violation.
The agency recommended fines of $53,800, and had harsh words for both companies. "Mr. McCruter's employers
knew they were placing him in mortal danger by not using cave-in protection,” said Ramona Morris, director of
OSHA's Birmingham Area Office in a March 5, 2015 press release. "His family is grieving the death of a loved one
because his employer willfully failed to protect him from this known hazard."
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