Opinion ID: 2626414
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The 1995-1996 Project (Conducted by OCC)

Text: Sometime in 1995, OCC began work on the installation of water and electrical lines, as well as widening roads and constructing new sidewalks and pavement in the Kaka`ako Improvement District. As part of the project, OCC was required to perform excavation work. On August 20, 1996, during the course of the excavation work, it appears that OCC encountered the GTE duct line that E.E. Black had previously installed. On that day, Pulawa, a construction superintendent employed by OCC, was overseeing the excavation work being performed by three other OCC employees at the intersection of Kamake`e and Kona Streets. One employee was operating a loader, [3] the second was operating a backhoe, [4] and the third employee was acting as a grade checker. The backhoe operator was excavating a trench and placing the excavated material somewhere near the trench. The loader operator would then pick up the material and deposit it in a dump truck. Because of the limited space in the excavation area, the loader operator would have to drive over the pile of excavated material in order to place the scooped-up material into the dump truck. The loader operator would then reverse back over the pile and repeat the process until the excavated material was removed. While removing the excavated material as described above, the loader operator indicated that he heard a whoosh sound as he was reversing over the pile of excavated material and saw what appeared to be a rock being propelled from the left rear tire of the loader, striking Pulawa on the head. When the accident occurred, Pulawa was apparently standing approximately fifteen to twenty feet away from the loader. According to the loader operator, he later believed that the rock was a half bag of concrete. Another OCC employee described the rock as having pieces of cement bag embedded in it. During the discovery process, it was apparently revealed that the rock was a 30-pound chunk of hardened cement in a cement bag with brown packaging and plastic wrapping. As a result of the accident, Pulawa sustained severe head injuries, including a depressed and open skull fracture.