GAETA RECYCLING CO., INC.

A Gaeta Recycling employee was standing at an exit from a trash-baling chamber, installing a trash bag on a chute. A propane tank, hidden in a pile of garbage, entered the baler chamber, where it exploded under pressure. The employee suffered head and face burns.

A driver was training on a truck when he was pinned between the truck forks and the compactor being delivered. The employee sustained a fractured tibia and fibula.

While engaged in sanitation collection, the employee was struck by a motor vehicle. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery for compound fractures to the lower right leg/foot.

An employee was emptying a 4-yard garbage dumpster. The employee's right middle finger became wedged between the garbage container and the garbage truck, suffering a partial amputation of the fingertip.

An employee was cleaning up the recycling area and was walking backwards when he was struck by a mini-loader. The employee fell and the loader ran over his left foot, fracturing it.

An employee was standing on the step at the back of a garbage truck when he fell to the ground and sustained a facial fracture and a concussion.

An employee was on the back of a traffic control trailer deploying traffic control devices when he fell to the ground and struck his head.

On March 27, 2023, an employee fell from the back of a traffic truck while it was performing a U-turn. The employee landed on the ground and sustained injury to the neck and back.

An employee was riding on a trash truck. When he jumped off the truck, he struck his head on the pavement and suffered a head injury.

An employee fell out of a moving postal vehicle as it pulled onto a roadway. The employee suffered broken facial bones and a broken hip.

An employee was backing up a garbage truck at a landfill to empty the truck. A concrete platform gave way, causing the vehicle to slide down into the landfill pit 20 feet below. The employee was flung backward and forward, hitting his head on the dashboard of the vehicle. The employee was hospitalized with a concussion.

An employee was kneeling beneath a loading dock, inspecting the area for future installation of an automatic dock plate. The existing manual dock plate fell off the dock and onto the employee, fracturing their hip.

On June 24, 2025, at 3:25 p.m., an employee had just finished dumping his truck at the recycling facility when they took a break in their truck. They began to experience signs of heat-related illness and left the cab of the truck before temporarily losing consciousness and collapsing. The employee was hospitalized due to dehydration, heat exhaustion, and acute kidney distress.

An employee was descending a ladder. As he stepped down, his foot landed on a pipe, which caused him to lose traction and fall. He sustained multiple torn ligaments, a shattered tibia, and a compound fracture to the heel bone. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was unloading a truckload of sulfuric acid/soda ash water mixture at a water treatment plant. Residual mixture in a hose cap spilled onto his right forearm, burning it. He was hospitalized.

An employee tripped over a stool and fell on the floor, resulting in a left displaced mid-cervical femoral neck fracture.

An employee was installing fence posts when they stepped into a recently dug hole that was not visible due to rainfall. The employee's leg was fractured.

An employee assisted in cleaning material from a conveyor pit. After the pit was cleaned, the employee proceeded to replace metal safety plates to ensure other employees did not fall into the pit. While replacing one of the last plates, the employee mis-stepped and fell approximately 5 feet into the pit. The employee was hospitalized with back/side bruising, elbow bruising, bone bruises, and/or fractured ribs.

An employee was inspecting a breaker box and turning on/off a circuit breaker when he was electrocuted.

An employee was walking on the sidewalk. When they stepped off the curb, they fell to the ground, resulting in fractures to their tibia, fibula, and a metatarsal.