A Tennessee contractor with a history of safety violations will face proposed fines of $210,000 after a trench collapse in December killed a worker and injured another.
Norris Brothers Excavating LLC of Crossville has been cited for three willful violations by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development for the December 11 incident in Big Ridge State Park in Maynardville.
“The employer showed willful disregard for the safety of employees who worked in an unsafe trench,” the labor department’s May 27 citations said. It noted that all three of the violations are repeats for the company.
Norris Brothers was working on a sewer installation project in the park when the collapse occurred at about 8 a.m. One worker was found buried to his waist in a 15-foot-deep “with near vertical walls,” while another worker was completely buried, according to the labor department.
The injured worker was rescued at about 1:30 p.m. and airlifted to a hospital. The body of Donnie Lee Stone, 35, was recovered at about 6 p.m. Stone, of Crossville, worked for more than 10 years at Norris Brothers, according to his obituary.
According to the state labor department, Norris Brothers faces the following willful violations from the fatal cave-in, each carrying a $70,000 fine:
- Failure to provide adequate cave-in protection, such as a trench box.
- No daily safety inspections of the trench.
- Employees were not instructed on the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions.
Powered byNorris Brothers is contesting the citations and fines, according to TOSHA records.
According to Tennessee and Kentucky OSHA online records, Norris Brothers received these trench citations prior to the December cave-in:
- $19,600 fine in 2025 for four serious violations in Kentucky, including inadequate cave-in protection, no safe way to exit the trench and failure to provide daily safety inspections of the trench. Norris Brothers is contesting these violations and fines.
- $74,800 fine in 2023 for one willful and four repeat violations in Tennessee, including inadequate cave-in protection and lack of employee safety training and safety inspections of the trench in Tennessee.
- $8,600 fine in 2022 for four serious violations in Tennessee, including inadequate cave-in protection and lack of employee safety training.
The company also faces two other proposed trench violations, totaling $3,750 in fines, stemming from Tennessee OSHA inspections at a jobsite in Knoxville in January after the December cave-in:
- Damaged or defective trench protective system. Serious violation, $2,000.
- Failure to have tabulated data for trench protective system on the jobsite. Serious violation, $1,750.
Norris Brothers is contesting these violations and fines.
The company has been in business since 1999, providing such services as underground utilities, water, sewer and gas line installation, drainage systems, directional boring, pipe rehabilitation, and asphalt and concrete paving, according to its website. Its territory covers Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia.
Equipment World has reached out to Norris Brothers for comment on the violations.
