Safety & Compliance

Safety & Compliance
Contractor Faces $140K Fine After Inspector Witnesses Trench Collapses
An inspector showed up on the jobsite and found workers being pulled out of a trench and saw 20 collapses while he was there.
September 23, 2025
'The dirt was undermined and carved in below the wall of the trench creating a high risk of a cave-in of the area where workers were climbing in and out,' says Washington L&I. The ladder was also too low, and the trench box was too small, according to the agency.
Safety & Compliance
Texas Contractor Pleads Guilty to Assault for Fatal Trench Collapse
The trench caved in earlier in the day, yet the 24-year-old worker was ordered back inside. The second collapse killed him.
September 4, 2025
The trench caved in earlier in the day, yet the 24-year-old worker was ordered back inside. The second collapse killed him.
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Safety
2 Workers Die, 1 Injured on Sewer Installation Project in Alabama
Three men entered a 20-foot-deep manhole, but only one was able to climb out on his own.
August 13, 2025
Mobile Fire-Rescue conducts emergency rescue operations August 11 at a sewer installation project in Mobile, Alabama, where two workers in a manhole died.
Safety & Compliance
2 Die, 1 Rescued in Excavator Accidents Over 4 Days in N.Y., Calif., Ill.
Two of the incidents involved excavators tipping over, and one fatality occurred when a worker was struck by an excavator.
August 5, 2025
File photo
Safety & Compliance
United Rentals Offers New Safety Training for Workers in Confined Spaces
The program trains supervisors of those working in manholes, vaults, pipelines, storm drains and other confined spaces.
August 4, 2025
United Rentals Confined Spaces
Safety & Compliance
12 Trench Collapse Deaths in 2025 So Far; OSHA Urges Increased Safety
Along with the recent rise in deaths, at least 11 workers have been rescued from trench collapses this year, some with serious injuries.
August 1, 2025
Two workers replacing a residential sewer line were rescued from a trench collapse February 25 in Wyandotte, Michigan.
Safety
3 Workers Die After Run Over by Construction Equipment in Pa., N.Y., Miss.
The three separate incidents July 8-15 involved a tandem-drum roller, a skid steer and a water truck, respectively, crushing workers.
July 18, 2025
Construction Accident Getty Images
Safety & Compliance
23-Year-Old Worker Dies – Another Recent Victim of Struck by Excavator Bucket
The 23-year-old becomes the third victim of struck by bucket since May 5. All were working in an excavation when they were hit.
July 3, 2025
Ryan Starnes with son
Safety
2 Workers Die in South Carolina After Run Over by Construction Equipment
One was struck by a skid steer and another by a milling machine when the machines were backing up.
June 26, 2025
Construction Accident Getty Images
Safety & Compliance
Worker Dies After Collapse of 5-Foot-Deep Trench in Connecticut
He was rescued from the trench collapse but later died at a local hospital.
June 19, 2025
Michael DiRocco leaves behind four children and eight grandchildren after his death June 13 in a trench collapse in Norwich, Connecticut.
Safety & Compliance
1 Worker Dies, 1 Injured When Hit by Excavator Buckets in Trenches in CA, WA
Within a month, two workers in trenches were struck by excavator buckets. One in California died, while one in Washington was severely injured.
June 16, 2025
A worker was in a 15-foot-deep trench June 3 in Woodland, Washington, when an excavator bucket landed on him, causing traumatic injury, according to fire department and media reports.
Construction Equipment
A Guide to Trench Boxes: Here's What Contractors Need to Know
We take a look the types of trench boxes on the market, how to choose one and how to use them properly.
June 16, 2025
orange trench box in trench with silver ladder sticking out
Safety & Compliance
Contractor, Excavator Operator Sentenced to Probation After Deadly Trench Collapse
The men pleaded guilty this month to second-degree manslaughter after their friend and co-worker was buried alive in 2022.
May 29, 2025
Trench boxes are viewed as the safest way to protect workers from cave-ins, but one was not in use in 2022 when 56-year-old Dennis Slater was buried alive in Vernon, Connecticut.
Safety & Compliance
Missouri AG Sues Utility for Alleged Unmarked Gas Line Before Deadly Explosion
The suit alleges Liberty Utilities falsely told an excavator all its gas pipes had been properly marked before an explosion killed a 5-year-old boy.
May 13, 2025
An explosion April 9 in Lexington, Missouri, killed a 5-year-old boy after a fiber-optic subcontractor struck a natural-gas line. The AG is suiing the utility for allegedly failing to mark the gas line and telling the subcontractor that all its lines had been marked before digging started.
Safety & Compliance
AT&T Fined $60K for Failure to Timely Locate Buried Lines in Kansas
The violations cover 60 occasions within a month in which the company missed the state's two-day deadline.
May 9, 2025
Utility Marking 811 Getty Images
Safety & Compliance
NTSB: Gas Line Struck Before Deadly Missouri Explosion Wasn't Marked by Locator
An explosion killed a 5-year-old boy after a subcontractor hit a natural-gas line that a new NTSB report says was not marked by the utility locator.
May 7, 2025
An explosion April 9 in Lexington, Missouri, that killed a 5-year-old boy followed a subcontractor striking a natural-gas line that a new NTSB report said was not marked by the utility locator.
Safety & Compliance
Contractor, Equipment Operator Plead Guilty to Manslaughter after Trench Death
The 56-year-old worker was in an 8-foot-deep, 135-foot-long trench guiding a pipe installation when the cave-in occurred.
April 7, 2025
backhoe digging trench
Safety & Compliance
California Contractor Fined $157K After Worker Dies in Trench Collapse
The penalty comes a month after the state fined two contractors $530,000 for a worker getting seriously injured in a trench collapse.
March 25, 2025
excavator arm digging shallow trench
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