Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Union Industrial Contractors Inc., 3300 West 13th Street, ASHTABULA, OHIO 44004
on — Fractures, affecting the chest, except internal location of diseases or disorders.
Final narrative
A crew was installing a water line in a trench that was 5' 3" deep when a trench wall caved in and pinned an employee, burying him in approximately one cubic yard of dirt. He was hospitalized for broken ribs. Cave-in protection was not used at the time.
HospitalizedChest, except internal location of diseases or disordersDitches, channels, trenches, excavations
More severe injuries at Union Industrial Contractors Inc.
An employee was doing electrical work in a trench when one of the trench walls caved in. The employee was struck by the soil and sustained fractures to their ribs and pelvis.
An employee was kneeling in a 4-foot deep hole trying to fix a leak in the waterline. The sidewalls were wet and the dirt fell from behind the employee onto his left side and crushed him against the pipe. The employee was hospitalized for an injured liver.
Employees were checking a trench box for removal when the wall caved in, burying the employees. One employee was hospitalized for 8 rib fractures and a shoulder fracture. The other employee was also hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238910)
An employee was directing trucks as they entered and left a highway work zone. A vehicle struck them, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was assisting the crew with patching and restoring a roadway after the installation of a sewer line. He was helping place and level the blacktop/backfill material over the trench area to bring the road surface back to proper grade. The employee was walking between a forward-moving dump truck and a dirt pile when his right foot was run over by the truck s wheel, causing him to fall. The employee sustained injury to his foot.
An employee was operating a skid steer with a bucket attachment at a demolition site. While driving it to the rear of the property to park it, the employee came into contact with a live electrical transformer unit that was located outside of the facility. The employee sustained electrical burns on his hands extending up to his elbows and a fractured ankle.
An employee was installing a door on a semi-trailer. They were using a forklift to lift the door to the height of the trailer when the door became jammed between the forklift mast and the hinge on the trailer. When the employee went to dislodge the door from the mast, the door fell and crushed their foot. Their big toe was amputated. The employee was hospitalized and their big toe was surgically reattached. The employee's foot and other toes also required surgery.
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.