Rival Well Services Incorporated: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Mar 18, 2022 (fatal): Employee dies due to drug overdose

On the morning of March 18, 2022, Four Rival Well Services Incorporated employees were conducting a well foaming assignment on "Maricopa-Wellington 3", a well located at a Caleco LLC lease, just South of Hwy 166. Employee #1 was conducting the duties of a well puller, while two coworkers were running the rig floor during the foaming process. A supervisor was on site and the crew had stopped work early that day due to well conditions. The weather peaked at approximately 70 degrees 32% RH with a light breeze prior to the incident, and the work done by Employee #1 was described as light work for their typical operation. After wrapping up for the day, Employee #1 and the two coworkers had left the work site together in the same vehicle. Before returning to the yard, Employee #1 and the two coworkers stopped for lunch at a food truck on the side of the road. The employees received a call requesting that they return to the worksite but before finishing lunch that request had been cancelled. The three employees began to head back to the yard, with Employee #1 sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. At approximately 12:20 p.m., the two coworkers in the vehicle, who had stated they initially thought Employee #1 was just resting, recognized that Employee #1 was unresponsive and had loss of color. The driver of the vehicle pulled over and the employees began to do chest compressions and summoned EMS. Kern County Fire and CHP had responded to the call and took control of the scene. Employee #1 was pronounced dead on location. At 3:22 p.m., the employer reported the fatality to the Division within the 8-hour time requirement. Kern County Coroner's Office has indicated the immediate cause of death as "fentanyl intoxication" with the manner of death marked as "accidental".