Norris Bros. Excavating LLC has been hit with $210,000 in penalties after Tennessee regulators found the Crossville contractor showed "willful, intentional disregard" for worker safety in a trench collapse at Big Ridge State Park on Dec. 11, 2025. The cave-in buried two workers, killing one and critically injuring the other in a multi-hour rescue that investigators say now underpins the state’s enforcement action.
The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) issued three willful violations, assessed at $70,000 each, for failing to provide required safety training, failing to use an adequate protective system, and failing to perform daily inspections, according to WBIR. The citation notes the trench was dug in Type C soil and that it had rained the night before, conditions regulators say significantly increased the risk of a cave-in.
Rescue Effort and Site Conditions
First responders described a grueling operation at the park, with unstable dirt and secondary collapses making it difficult to shore up the trench and safely dig out the trapped workers. One man was freed in the early afternoon and airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, while technical rescue crews and multiple county agencies spent hours more working to recover the second man near the park campground, WVLT reported.
Victim and Survivor
Local coverage identified the worker who died as 35-year-old Donnie Stone, described by relatives as a longtime excavation employee, according to reporting republished by WATE via Yahoo. The surviving worker, identified in state records as Jacob Finch, suffered five fractures, bruised ribs and multiple head lacerations and was flown to UT Medical Center, according to WBIR. WBIR also reports that the citation lists a June 26, 2026 payment date and that Norris Bros. has exercised its right to contest the penalties.
Company Record and Prior Penalties
Industry coverage shows this was not the firm’s first clash with trench-safety regulators. The company previously faced roughly $74,800 in fines in 2023 for a willful and repeat citation, as well as additional serious citations in 2022. Equipment World reviewed agency records that point to a pattern of excavation-related citations for Norris Bros.
Legal and Enforcement Next Steps
Employers can appeal TOSHA citations and request an administrative review, and abatement and posting requirements remain in place while a case is pending. Tennessee law allows penalties of up to $70,000 for willful or repeated violations and lays out the appeal process for employers under state statute. Federal OSHA defines a "willful" violation as an intentional disregard for, or plain indifference to, worker safety standards, a definition investigators said guided the state’s penalty calculations. For more on those provisions, see Tennessee Code §50-3-405 as published by Justia and federal guidance from OSHA.
Why It Matters
Trench collapses remain among the construction industry’s deadliest hazards, and safety advocates say the willful findings in this case highlight how basic precautions such as training, daily inspections and proper shoring can prevent disaster. Family members and co-workers have urged stricter adherence to those measures since the collapse, WATE via Yahoo reported. Regulators and legal experts say a willful designation increases the likelihood of higher penalties and can influence how subsequent civil claims unfold.
