Data center construction projects involve constant movement. Heavy equipment moves across the site. Trucks deliver switchgear, generators, steel, pipe, conduit, cable reels, cooling equipment, server racks, and prefabricated components. Workers from many trades operate in the same areas, often under tight schedules and with limited room to maneuver.
A serious data center accident can occur when a worker is struck by moving equipment, hit by falling materials, pinned between objects, or caught in machinery. These incidents can happen in seconds. They often leave workers with crush trauma, fractures, head injuries, amputations, spinal injuries, internal trauma, or fatal injuries.
A worker injured in a struck-by or caught-in incident should consult with a data center accident lawyer to learn their options. A data center accident lawyer can help determine who controlled the work area, who created the hazard, and whether the injured worker has a claim against a responsible third party.
Why struck-by hazards are common on data center projects
Data centers require large-scale construction activity. These projects often involve heavy lifts, equipment staging, delivery zones, excavation work, elevated work, overhead installation, and constant material movement. A worker may be exposed to hazards from above, beside, behind, or below.
Struck-by accidents may involve:
- Trucks backing through staging areas
- Forklifts moving pallets or equipment
- Telehandlers carrying heavy loads
- Cranes lifting steel, generators, or mechanical equipment
- Excavators working near laborers
- Aerial lifts moving through crowded areas
- Falling tools, conduit, panels, or materials
- Suspended loads swinging or shifting
- Unsecured equipment tipping or sliding
Construction equipment hazards are especially dangerous on data center projects because workers on foot may be placed close to heavy machinery. Safe planning should separate pedestrian routes from equipment paths, use spotters when needed, control deliveries, and prevent workers from entering blind spots.
Backover accidents and blind spots
A backover accident can happen when a truck, loader, forklift, telehandler, or other machine reverses into a worker. Data center sites often have congested staging areas, temporary roads, tight delivery spaces, and active work zones where pedestrians and equipment overlap.
Backing equipment is dangerous because operators may have limited visibility. Large loads, trailers, building corners, material stacks, dust, noise, and multiple moving vehicles can make it harder to see workers on foot. Backup alarms and cameras help, but they do not replace proper traffic control, spotters, exclusion zones, and worksite planning.
A data center accident lawyer can help review whether the site had a traffic control plan, whether spotters were used, whether the operator had clear visibility, whether workers were warned, and whether the company controlling the site allowed pedestrians and machines to work too close together.
Caught-in and caught-between hazards
Caught-in and caught-between accidents occur when a worker is trapped, compressed, pulled, or pinned by equipment, materials, machinery, or collapsing structures. These incidents can be especially severe because the force involved is often massive.
On data center sites, caught-in hazards may involve:
- Workers pinned between equipment and a wall
- Workers caught between a load and a structure
- Workers pulled into moving machinery
- Workers crushed by shifting materials
- Workers trapped in or near excavation equipment
- Workers caught under a tipped load
- Workers pinned by server racks, panels, or prefabricated components
- Workers trapped during a collapse or equipment failure
These incidents can cause crush injuries, amputations, fractures, nerve damage, internal injuries, and death.
Excavators and struck-by risks
Excavators are common during early data center construction. They may be used for grading, trenching, utility installation, foundations, duct banks, stormwater systems, and site preparation. Excavators can create struck-by and caught-in hazards for workers on foot.
An excavator accident may occur when a worker is struck by the bucket, boom, counterweight, load, or machine itself. An excavator’s swing radius can be dangerous if workers are allowed too close. Operators may also have blind spots that make it difficult to see laborers, spotters, or other trades nearby.
A struck-by accident involving an excavator can result from poor communication, lack of exclusion zones, inadequate spotters, unsafe equipment movement, or failure to coordinate work around the machine. If the excavator is operating near trenches, utilities, slopes, or uneven ground, the danger can increase.
Falling materials and overhead work
Data center construction requires extensive overhead installation. Workers install pipe, conduit, cable trays, busways, ductwork, fire suppression systems, lighting, cameras, sensors, and structural supports above other trades. If tools or materials are not secured, workers below can be seriously injured.
Falling debris can cause head trauma, facial injuries, eye injuries, spinal trauma, fractures, and lacerations. A hard hat may reduce the risk of some injuries, but it does not make it safe to work beneath unsecured materials or active overhead work.
Safe projects use exclusion zones, tool tethering, controlled access, toe boards, debris netting, material staging rules, and communication between trades. When workers are stacked in the same area without planning, the risk of a struck-by injury increases.
Suspended loads and heavy deliveries
Data centers require delivery and installation of very large components. Generators, switchgear, transformers, UPS equipment, chillers, pumps, steel, and prefabricated modules may be moved by cranes, forklifts, telehandlers, or specialized rigging equipment.
Suspended loads are dangerous because they can swing, shift, drop, or strike workers during movement. A worker should not be placed beneath or beside a load without proper controls. Rigging failures, poor communication, inadequate lift planning, or unstable loads can cause catastrophic injuries.
Crane and rigging work should be planned with attention to load weight, travel path, ground conditions, signal communication, exclusion zones, and weather. If a heavy component shifts during movement, workers nearby may have no time to escape.
Forklifts, telehandlers, and material handling equipment
Forklifts and telehandlers are common on data center sites. They may move pallets, conduit, cable reels, equipment, panels, and construction materials through tight spaces. These machines can create struck-by and caught-between hazards when traffic controls are weak.
Material handling incidents may involve a worker being struck by a moving forklift, pinned between a machine and a rack, hit by a falling load, or crushed when a load shifts. Poorly secured materials, overloaded forks, uneven surfaces, and obstructed visibility can all contribute.
A data center accident lawyer can help determine whether the operator was trained, whether the equipment was inspected, whether the load was secure, whether pedestrian routes were protected, and whether the site had a safe traffic plan.
Trenching and caught-in hazards
Utility and duct bank work can expose data center workers to trenching hazards. Workers may be caught in a trench collapse, pinned by equipment operating near the edge, struck by falling materials, or trapped by soil movement.
Excavation hazards should be addressed before workers enter trenches or excavations. A competent person should inspect the excavation and take action if hazards exist. Depending on the conditions, proper protective systems may be required.
A trench collapse can bury a worker within seconds. Even a partial collapse can pin a worker, restrict breathing, crush the body, or prevent escape.
Serious injuries after struck-by and caught-in accidents
Struck-by and caught-in accidents often cause severe injuries because of the force involved. A worker hit by heavy equipment, pinned between objects, or struck by falling materials may need emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, and long-term treatment.
Common injuries include broken bones, crushed limbs, internal bleeding, nerve damage, lacerations, traumatic brain injury, spinal injuries, and permanent disability.
An injured worker may have a claim for medical expenses, lost income, pain, impairment, future medical care, and loss of earning capacity. If the worker can no longer return to construction, equipment operation, electrical work, or another skilled trade, the economic harm can be substantial.
Speak With a Data Center Accident Lawyer After a Struck-By or Caught-In Injury
Spagnoletti Law Firm represents workers and families affected by serious construction equipment injuries and other catastrophic events. When a worker is hit, pinned, crushed, or trapped on a data center construction site, it is important to determine whether equipment hazards, unsafe traffic control, falling debris, poor contractor coordination, trench hazards, or inadequate safety planning contributed to the injury.
A data center accident lawyer can help preserve evidence, obtain surveillance footage, review equipment and contractor records, inspect the worksite, identify responsible parties, and determine whether the injured worker has a claim.
We offer a free consultation, and we handle data center accident cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront attorney’s fees and we are paid only if we recover compensation for you.
If you or a loved one has been impacted by a data center accident, call Spagnoletti Law Firm at 713-804-9306 or contact us online.