One worker noticed a large crack in the soft dirt of an unprotected wall of a utility trench. He and the other worker in the trench at that time were told to use caution…but continue working. The subsequent collapse of that unprotected wall killed a man and earned his employer nearly a quarter of a million dollars in fines from Cal/OSHA. Investigators for the state agency said Livermore-based contractor Platinum Pipeline, Inc. committed willful-serious safety violations by instructing employees to continue grading the bottom of the trench without providing any protection, even after identifying the soil as unstable.

A 54-year-old worker died after he fell into a vat of sulfuric acid at a South Lyon-based steel manufacturing firm (Michigan) in what is being described as a "serious industrial accident." The man was fully submerged in the 10 percent to 12 percent sulfuric acid solution as his Michigan Seamless Tube co-workers worked desperately to pull him from the industrial container, burning themselves from the at least 160-degree chemical solution, Fire Chief Robert Vogel said.

The clear skies offered good visibility and a lookout was posted on the morning of November 30, 2018, but those factors didn’t prevent a CSX Transportation freight train from striking and killing a track welder. The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the incident offers few clues as to why the accident occurred. According to the report, the accident in Estill, South Carolina occurred as the train – traveling at about 50 miles an hour – approached a location where a welder was at work on the track.

Tree trimming companies should perform hazard assessments before allowing a worker to begin a task, according to investigators who looked into the electrocution death of a tree trimmer working in the backyard of a private residence. The incident in California was unwitnessed, but occurred while the tree trimmer was trimming palm trees that were in close proximity to a utility power pole and high voltage lines.

A construction worker has died after he fell 40 feet down an elevator shaft Wednesday at the Salt Lake City International Airport, airport officials confirmed Saturday. The man, 50, worked for Holder-Big D Construction and the company released a statement about his death. “We are deeply saddened that the worker injured on Jan. 30 has passed away,” the statement says. “Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and coworkers.”

A sheriff’s deputy in Cincinnati, Ohio was killed Saturday night after responding to a report of a suicidal man. Another deputy was injured. According to a press release issued by the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, Detective Bill Brewer, a 20-year-veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, was allegedly shot by a man who’d barricaded himself inside an apartment complex after calling 911 to report that he was armed and suicidal.

A teenager loses control of a ladder – and loses his life. The FDA gets an “F” when it comes to controlling tobacco use among young people. OSHA’s final injury and illness reporting rule gets challenged in court. These were among the top stories featured on ISHN.com this week.

A 16-year-old roofer was killed last year in Kentucky when he lost control of a 25-foot ladder and it made contact with a 7200-volt electric power line, according to Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation (FACE) by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. The incident occurred at a private residential home, when the victim was trying to position an aluminum extension ladder against a roof.

One worker died and two others were injured Tuesday in Raleigh, North Carolina when they were buried in a collapse at an excavated area. News sources say the accident occurred at 11:15 a.m. at a worksite where affordable housing is under construction.

OSHA is investigating a construction accident Wednesday evening in Cleveland, Ohio that claimed the life of a 65-year-old worker. News sources said crews were demolishing a three-story building when the accident occurred. The victim was operating an excavating and other workers were dismantling an elevator shaft when parts of the building fell on the excavator, crushing the man.