United Rentals Trench Safety

An employee was helping load a modular 10-by-10 trench box into a truck. As he tried to straighten the box so it could be loaded, the truck backed up. He suffered a partial fingertip amputation.

An employee was struck by a load of shoring equipment being moved by an excavator when the boom swung, breaking an ankle and heel. The employee was hospitalized.

On November 9, 2023, an employee lifted a 70-pound package of paper bags, put it in a cart, and then pushed the cart to the front of the store by the cash registers. The employee sustained a collapsed lung.

An employee was providing medical treatment to injured persons involved in a motor vehicle accident. The employee was walking up and down a low-grade embankment carrying injured persons on transport equipment such as backboards. The employee sustained chest pain, and a possible cardiac related event with an elevated heart rate and elevated blood pressure.

An employee was moving merchandise in boxes, rolling containers, and totes, from a truck to store shelves when they sustained back and neck injuries.

An employee was using a shovel to dig a hole for a pipe when he suffered a broken vertebra. He was hospitalized.

On June 16, 2023, an employee was elevated in a scissor lift and was removing a pipe from a structure when they began experiencing back pain. The employee sustained a ruptured abdominal aneurysm from lifting/carrying/pulling pipe.

An employee was pulling a data cable through a ceiling. He fell through the ceiling, landing at ground level. He suffered a laceration to the forehead, a dislocated left little finger, a broken left ring finger, and a laceration to the liver.

On September 16, 2025, an employee was installing and adjusting spotlights on a performance stage that was under construction. While crossing the stage to speak with other contractors, the employee encountered a section of the stage where the elevation changed to a lower level. As the employee stepped down 14 inches to the lower level, his knee locked up and he fell to the stage. He subsequently rolled off the stage and fell approximately 2 to 3 feet to the floor, resulting in a fractured tibial plateau in his right leg.

An employee was delivering a 65-foot boom lift to a rental customer's construction site. The employee set up the ramp truck in the parking lot adjacent to the construction site. He elevated the boom 4-5 feet to clear a temporary fence. While driving the boom lift off the ramp, the wheels slid to the driver's side of the ramp truck, ultimately sliding off the ramp. The boom lift fell off the side of the truck and rolled onto its side. The employee sustained a fractured clavicle, a dislocated shoulder, separated/fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and a fractured left femur. The employee required surgery.

An employee was performing maintenance on a telehandler and installing a carriage lift cylinder. The employee was checking the alignment when the cylinder slipped and partially amputated his left middle finger.

An employee had just serviced a battery and was reinstalling it in a forklift using a battery extractor. The employee was trying to pull the battery out of the battery compartment when the extractor moved, causing the battery to shift on the rollers. The employee's right hand was crushed between the top of the battery and the battery compartment.

An employee fell while exiting a trailer. The employee landed on their left side on the pavement, suffering multiple broken ribs on the left side. The employee was hospitalized.

Two employees were setting up a mandrel in the spindle of a machine. The mandrel was side-shifted while an employee's hand was on the mast of a powered industrial truck. The employee suffered crushing injuries that resulted in amputations to the middle and ring fingertips.

An employee had been loading a double deck press. The employee saw a mold had been sent in with the C-hook still attached on the belly bar. As he went to remove the hook from the mold, his right thumb got caught on the C-hook. The employee's thumb was partially amputated.

An employee was operating a roller and paving a small pathway next to a pavilion. The ground was on a slight pitch, causing him to reach up toward the roll cage to stabilize himself. His right fifth finger was pinched between the roll cage and the rafter of the pavilion. The employee sustained a partial degloving injury with partial traumatic amputation.

An employee was delivering home heating fuel when bees came from the ground and stung the employee's face, neck, torso, and hands. The employee proceeded to shut off the oil flow before losing consciousness. They were hospitalized due to an anaphylactic reaction.