Massachusetts-based construction contractor assessed $4.6M in proposed penalties. OSHA has cited a water and sewer line construction contractor for willfully and repeatedly exposing workers to trench hazards. Proposed penalties of $4.6M were assessed against the company in a trench collapse in 2025 that claimed the life of an employee and seriously injured another at a...
Two crew members were killed and two others injured during a confined space incident aboard a barge in southeast Alaska. According to the Coast Guard, the crew entered a confined space and lost contact with others on the tug. Initial information from family indicates methane gas may have been present, though details are still under...
A tragic incident at Prospect Valley Dairy in Keenesburg, Colorado, claimed the lives of six individuals, including a 17-year-old high school student, on August 20. According to the Wisconsin State Farmer, the deaths likely resulted from hydrogen sulfide exposure in an underground manure pit, a confined space. A contractor working on the pit reportedly adjusted...
Two workers died in a confined space on Friday, June 13, 2025, near Fort Worth, Texas. Few details are available at this time as reported by the Star-Telegram News. According to officials, the two men were unresponsive when reached by the local fire department rescue personnel. Initial reports indicated that the men had been doing...
The following fatality reports were summarized from recent OSHA News Releases (osha.gov).
NEW YORK – Two employees of a Bronx water and sewer line construction contractor were fatally injured in a trench at a construction site at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens on April 3, 2023. These fatalities could have been prevented if their employer had ensured proper safeguards, a federal investigation found.
Confined spaces and excavations continue to present fatal hazards to workers, and OSHA continues to take notice. While OSHA lists fewer confined space accidents in 2021 than in 2020, 100% of them involved fatalities. Trench collapses are among the most serious dangers in the construction industry. Excavations can collapse in seconds and can potentially bury workers...
As a rescuer, it’s your worst nightmare. A person is trapped and the space is rapidly filling with water. That’s what rescuers faced recently in Westmont, IL. A public works employee became trapped in an underground vault that was rapidly filling with water due to a water main break.
BRECKENRIDGE, CO – The owner of a Vail construction company facing felony manslaughter charges has surrendered to local law enforcement. This is related to the findings of a federal safety investigation into a deadly trench collapse in November 2021. A worker installing residential sewer pipes suffered fatal injuries when the trench around him caved in. The...
Companies with active safety and health programs that train workers to identify hazardous conditions and use required protective measures can prevent serious and fatal injuries.
