California continues to see alarming numbers of workplace deaths, many of which are preventable. On October 3, 2025, Cal-OSHA Report released its latest Workplace Fatality Update, highlighting several tragic incidents across the state—including multiple struck-by accidents in construction, agriculture, and public works. These cases serve as sobering reminders that safety failures still cost lives despite well-known protections. In this article, we will break down the key findings from Cal-OSHA's update, explain what went wrong, and outline how families can protect their rights after a fatal or catastrophic injury at work.

What the Oct 3 Update Signals

The Oct 3 roundup indicates a series of new California workplace fatalities, with struck-by hazards featured prominently. These events include workers hit by moving trucks or equipment, loads that fall, or vehicles backing up in congested work zones. While Cal-OSHA.com restricts the full text of its member-only update, related public releases and local reporting give a clear picture of the kinds of incidents the state is seeing right now.

A Roadway Work-Zone Death That Should Never Happen

One of the most widely reported cases is the death of Mahdi Khorram, a 39-year-old Caltrans construction inspector who was struck by an asphalt truck while working on Highway 4 in Contra Costa County on September 18, 2025. State officials and news outlets confirmed he was hit inside an active construction closure and that he leaves behind a spouse and young child. This was a classic “struck-by while reversing” scenario—among the most preventable and well-understood hazards in heavy civil construction.

Highway work zones should be engineered to minimize backing maneuvers. When reversing is unavoidable, employers are expected to deploy controls such as spotters, backup alarms, proximity sensors, high-visibility apparel, and site traffic plans that separate people from moving equipment. Failures in these layers of protection are exactly what investigators look for after a tragedy like this.

Agriculture: A High-Hazard Sector With Ongoing Losses

Another recent case under Cal-OSHA investigation involves a worker who died at Sun Pacific Delano Farms in Kern County on September 8, 2025. Public reporting identifies the worker as an irrigator, with few additional details available pending the state's findings. The case underscores how agricultural labor remains one of California's most dangerous occupations, with risks ranging from heat illness and vehicle strikes to chemical exposures and machinery entanglement.

Even when the immediate cause is unclear, employers in agricultural settings must follow strict rules on training, supervision, equipment guarding, hazard assessments, and emergency response. Cal-OSHA investigations typically take months, but families do not have to wait to begin safeguarding their rights and evidence.

Why Struck-By Incidents Keep Appearing

Struck-by incidents recur for predictable reasons that can be addressed with planning and enforcement:

• Tight work zones and blind spots: large trucks and equipment have limited rear and side visibility. Without spotters and separation, pedestrians are at risk.
• Rushed staging and poor traffic control: compressed schedules lead to shortcuts in site layout, signage, and vehicle routes.
• Breakdowns in communication: workers on foot and equipment operators may not share a common radio channel or clear hand signals.
• Insufficient technology adoption: fleets may lack modern proximity sensors, cameras, and automatic braking aids that reduce backing hazards.

Cal-OSHA's enforcement history and standing guidance emphasize that backing plans, trained spotters, audible alarms, high-visibility garments, and physical barriers are baseline controls, not optional measures. When those are missing or inconsistently applied, tragedies like the Highway 4 death become more likely. The Oct 3 update's emphasis on struck-by incidents reflects this ongoing gap in basic controls.

What Cal-OSHA Investigates After a Fatality

When a fatality occurs, Cal-OSHA opens a case to determine whether safety regulations were violated. The agency can issue citations and monetary penalties. Investigations typically examine whether the employer identified risks, implemented feasible controls, trained workers, and supervised the job appropriately.

In struck-by investigations, Cal-OSHA commonly reviews:

• Whether there was a written traffic control plan
• Use and training of spotters
• Functionality of backup alarms, cameras, and lighting
• Use of high-visibility apparel and proper PPE
• Site design to separate foot traffic from equipment paths
• Pre-task hazard analyses and daily briefings

The answers help determine whether the employer met or violated California's Title 8 safety standards and whether further enforcement is warranted.

Workers' Compensation and Third-Party Claims

In California, a fatal or catastrophic workplace injury typically triggers a workers' compensation claim. Workers' comp provides death benefits and limited damages, but it is not the only avenue for recovery.

If a third party—such as a subcontractor, equipment owner, delivery driver, or negligent motorist—contributed to the hazard, families may file a wrongful death or survivor action against that third party. These claims can allow recovery for full damages, including pain and suffering, that workers' comp does not pay. On public works projects, multiple entities may share responsibility for traffic control, staging, and site safety. Determining who controlled what is a fact-intensive process that benefits from early investigation.

Why Immediate Legal Action Matters

Evidence moves quickly after a fatality. Prompt legal action allows families to protect their rights and build a clear record of what happened. Early steps include:

1. Preservation letters: send litigation holds to employers, contractors, public agencies, and insurers to retain dash-cam footage, backing camera recordings, telematics, dispatch logs, vehicle inspection records, radio traffic, and incident command notes.
2. Witness statements: document observations while memories are fresh and before workers disperse to other jobsites.
3. Scene inspections: measure sight lines, lighting, and approach angles; capture photos and videos before conditions change.
4. Expert involvement: retain specialists in construction safety, human factors, work-zone traffic control, vehicle systems, and agricultural safety to reconstruct events and identify failures.

The Highway 4 case highlights how crucial it is to capture vehicle movement data and site traffic plans early. Even where the employer is a public entity, third-party equipment operators or contractors may bear liability.

Agriculture, Heat, and Remote-Worksite Response

Farm-related deaths often occur far from urban emergency services. That makes emergency planning and rapid response protocols essential. For irrigators and field crews, employers should have:

• Heat illness prevention plans and real-time monitoring during warm periods
• Reliable communication and location tools to find workers in distress
• Training on field equipment and lockout/tagout where pumps, gates, or moving machinery are involved
• Immediate medical response plans and transport options where EMS response times are long

Even when the medical cause is unclear at first, experienced counsel can help reconstruct events and identify failures in planning, supervision, or equipment.

Deadlines That Can Affect Your Case

• Workers' compensation death benefits: strict notice and filing requirements apply.
• Government claims: actions against public entities usually require a timely Government Claim before filing a civil lawsuit.
• Wrongful death and survivorship: statutes of limitation can be shorter when a public entity is involved.

Early consultation helps families avoid missing critical notice and filing cutoffs.

How We Help After a Fatal or Catastrophic Injury

Our firm has extensive experience investigating complex work-site incidents, including struck-by events, machinery entanglement, trench and excavation collapses, and falls. In the wake of the Oct 3 fatality update, here is how we can support families:

• Independent investigation with safety and engineering experts
• Rapid preservation of digital and physical evidence
• Identification of all responsible parties, including third parties and public entities where appropriate
• Coordination of workers' compensation and third-party civil claims to maximize recovery
• Clear, compassionate communication with families about timelines and realistic outcomes

Practical Safety Takeaways for Employers and Site Controllers

While our mission is to represent injured workers and families, preventing the next tragedy saves lives. The patterns in recent cases point to practical steps employers and site controllers should take every day:

• Eliminate or minimize backing with one-way circulation in work zones
• Assign and train dedicated spotters with radios when backing cannot be avoided
• Equip fleets with functioning backup alarms, cameras, and proximity sensors and audit them regularly
• Enforce high-visibility apparel and adequate lighting for night operations
• Separate foot traffic from equipment paths with barriers and marked corridors
• Conduct daily pre-task briefings that highlight backing hazards and responsibilities
• Pair heat-illness prevention with emergency response planning in agriculture

Protecting California Workers and Families

The Oct 3, 2025 fatality update is a reminder that many deadly hazards in California workplaces are known and preventable. Whether it is a reversing truck on a highway job or a loss in an agricultural field, families can and should seek a full accounting of what went wrong. If you have lost a loved one or suffered a catastrophic injury on the job, contact Greenberg and Ruby Injury Attorneys to discuss your options. We know how to move quickly to preserve evidence, identify all responsible parties, and pursue the compensation and justice your family deserves.