Photo: John P. Carroll/CWN file
BOSTON – One of the contractors working on the Yarmouth sewer construction project has been fined $4.6 million in connection with a fatal cave-in accident last November
Revoli Construction, a water and sewer line contractor, was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor for what the government said was willfully and repeatedly exposing workers to safety hazards in a trench collapse on November 18, 2025.
The accident claimed the life of Revoli employee Miguel Reis, 61, of Fall River and seriously injured another at a Yarmouth worksite.
According to findings from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, they found that Revoli workers were removing sandy soil and installing steel plates outside of a trench. While working, OSHA found that the backfilled sand collapsed and trapped two workers inside the trench.
Reis was engulfed and sustained fatal injuries.
David Curran/Satellite News Service/CWN file
“This cave-in is a solemn reminder of the dangers construction workers face when basic safety procedures and safe engineering solutions are ignored. Through our trench safety initiatives, the Department of Labor remains committed to ensuring every worker returns home safe at the end of the day,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a media statement.
“We will continue holding employers accountable and providing resources dedicated to hazard training and required engineering controls to put a stop to these preventable tragedies,” she said.
As a result of the findings, OSHA cited Revoli with seven willful citations, 33 repeat, and 17 serious violations.
They included failing to provide workers with a safe way to exit the trench, lack of adequate cave-in protection, having unsupported underground utilities, maintaining spoil piles within two feet of an excavation, neglecting to install a shoring system per the design, using a damaged protective system, and exposing employees to numerous electrical and fall hazards.
In total, the agency assessed Revoli Construction Co. Inc. $4,699,362 in proposed penalties to address the violations.
Revoli has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
In January, the Town of Yarmouth Select Board voted to require a full-time qualified safety professional consulting firm to be on-site at all times as a precondition for Revoli Construction to resume any active trenchwork requiring support as defined in OSHA regulations.
The safety professional is required to keep detailed daily logs and provide daily construction reports to the town. The safety professional also has the authority to stop work in the event it observes conditions that it deems to be unsafe.
