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 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 putting vegetation into a hopper when two of his left-hand fingers were amputated by the hopper blade roller.

An employee was changing mud cups in the hopper cylinders of a concrete pump truck. The cylinders moved and three of the employees fingers were amputated.

An employee was standing on the rig floor next to a polishing unit. His hand was placed on the polishing unit when the pump was lowered, resulting in amputation of their right thumb, ring, and middle fingertips.

An employee was using air to blow out the air wash to the blender and grinder station. As the employee reached to verify that the air wash was clean, the unit pinched and amputated their fingertip.

An employee was retrieving a lost drill pipe with a lifting bail when their left thumb got pinched between the table and handle of the lifting bail while trying to re-thread the pipe to lift it out. The employee suffered an amputation to the left thumb.

An employee was removing a core chuck from a stationary roll when their right ring finger was pinched between the chuck and the roll. The employee's fingertip was amputated.

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.