Collapse, engulfment building or structure · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at K Hovnanian Homes of De, LLC, 16539 E. Keyway, LEWES, DELAWARE 19958
on — Fractures , affecting the Multiple trunk locations.
Final narrative
Three employees were constructing a deck (digging holes to install permanent roof shoring) when the roof over the porch collapsed on them. The roof (9 feet by 25 feet) had been supported by temporary 2x4 shoring. One employee was hospitalized with a hairline fracture of one vertebra, a facture to the lower back, and two broken ribs. The other two employees were injured but not hospitalized. The second employee sustained cuts to their head and shoulder. The third employee sustained cuts and bruises to their head, back, arms, and legs.
On September 5, 2025, an employee was installing gang plates on a structure when the side walls fell and hit her head. She then fell onto her back and the side wall pressed her to the ground, resulting in hospitalization due to an ilium fracture and a transverse process fracture on the right side.
Employees were chipping concrete/brick to separate a building for demolition when the wall collapsed and debris fell onto the employees, resulting in hospitalization of two employees. One employee sustained a fractured left femur and a head injury, and the other sustained a severe head injury.
On June 11, 2025, employees were completing the installation of flashing and waterproofing material at the base of an existing masonry wall. The wall gave way while the employees were working on it and three employees were injured by falling brick and mortar. Two employees were treated and released. The third employee sustained fractures to both arms, a blunt force injury to the face, and a partial amputation of their right little finger. The third employee was hospitalized.
Two employees were standing under a mobile fall protection gantry span while it was being adjusted. While the security bolts were being removed, the adjustable legs began to spread, causing the main beam to fall and strike the employees on their heads. Both employees sustained blunt force trauma and lacerations to the tops of their heads.
An employee was overseeing the feeding of chicks in the chick hatchery. The feed piping became clogged, causing it to spill over onto the ceiling. The ceiling collapsed and struck the employee. The employee sustained broken vertebrae and a broken femur.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 236115)
An employee was unloading frameless mirrors from a trailer. When unstrapped, the mirrors fell over onto the employee, who suffered a skull fracture, a brain bleed and blood clot, a broken left ankle, and lacerations.
An employee was drilling a hole into the sealed hold of a vessel so a marine chemist could test its atmosphere. Upon drilling the hole, a gas that was under pressure was released and caught fire at the drill motor, where the employee was holding it. The employee was burned.
An employee was inspecting the attic in a home. The employee stepped off the drop-down attic ladder onto drywall, fell through, and landed on the floor about 10 feet below. He suffered a broken left tibia.
An employee went aloft in a bucket truck to install a rubber cover-up for the pole set. He was proceeding to frame and transfer the conductors to the new pole when he sustained electrical burns on his left side, arm, and leg that required hospitalization.
An employee was positioned on a scaffold. They were using a level to adjust a pole and place bricks on the side of a wall. They fell approximately 30 feet from the scaffold to the ground, resulting in fractures to their back, rib, and heel.
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.