Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025
105,991Records 70,589Employers 85,836Hospitalizations 27,959Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-11-30

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14399075

K & S UTILITY CONTRACTOR, INC.

Event
CLEARANCE, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, TRENCH, CAUGHT BETWEEN, CRUSHED, ARM, BACKHOE
NAICS
000000
Inspection type
Accident-driven
Activity number
#100817998
Employer profile
K & S UTILITY CONTRACTOR, INC.
Summary number
14399075
Report ID
626300

Event description

Employee dies after arm crushed between equipment in trench

Investigation abstract

Employee #1, a laborer, was compacting soil in an approximately 2 1/2 ft deep by 3 ft wide trench that had been previously backfilled. The walk-behind compactor has its controls at the very top center of the machine. Employee #1's arm was l ocated at the operating controls, and he was steering the compactor underneath a backhoe that was straddling the trench. As he guided the compactor under the ba ckhoe, there was not enough room to clear the frame and Employee #1's arm became trapped between the two pieces of equipment. He suffered a crushing injury to h is right arm; subsequent complications led to his death.

Victim

  1. #1 Fatality Age 48 Male

    Nature of injury
    Bruise/Contus/Abras (3)
    Part of body
    ARM-MULT (2)
    Accident type
    CAUGHT IN OR BETWEEN (2)
    Source of injury
    HAND TOOL (POWERED) (21)
    Occupation
    Occupation not reported (999)
    Human factor
    INSUFF/LACK/WRITN WRK PRAC PROG. (18)
    Environmental factor
    WORK-SURFACE/FACIL-LAYOUT COND (13)
    Task assigned
    Task regularly assigned (1)

Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.