The company, Rotschy LLC, was cited and fined over $150,000 after a safety and health investigation by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
A Washington state teenager has lost both his legs after being dragged underneath a trencher in the town of La Center, according to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
The 16-year-old was in a work-based learning program last summer when the incident occurred, according to KPTV. The program was intended to help students earn credit and work experience outside the classroom, KPTV reported.
While on a job site in La Center, the unnamed teenager was operating a trencher to dig a channel for fence posts when he was dragged underneath, resulting in injuries requiring both his legs to be amputated, KPTV reported.
The company, Rotschy LLC, based in Canada, was cited and fined over $150,000 after a safety and health investigation by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries posted an image of the trencher as well as the news on X, formerly Twitter, and announced, “Our Youth Employment Safety unit is investigating whether young workers like this one were doing prohibited work for Rotschy. That could mean more fines + restrictions on hiring minor workers or participating in work-based learner programs.”
“This tragedy should never have happened, and this young man’s life will never be the same. Employers with young workers should look after our children as they would their own. When they fail to keep a young worker safe, it’s a violation of the community’s trust,” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries added.
Washington’s youth employment laws identify prohibited duties for workers under 18 years old.
Rotschy had a student learner exemption permitting minors to do some work typically prohibited, but the use of the walk-behind trencher was not part of the exemption, according to the Washington State Labor & Industries.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to Rotschy LLC for comment and in an email a spokesperson said in a statement: "We were deeply saddened by the incident involving one of our minor workers who suffered a tragic injury on our job site. As a family-owned company with a strong safety record, this has been a distressing moment for us. Safety has always been our top priority. We are committed to learning from this and strengthening our safety measures to ensure such incidents never happen again. The worker has returned to work for Rotschy in an office role using the skills obtained in the field to assist a project manager in project duties."
