The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation into a recent crane accident at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas, where a construction worker sustained severe injuries. This incident, which occurred in November, marks the second crane-related mishap at the site this year, drawing renewed attention to safety practices at the rapidly expanding space launch complex.

Eduardo Cavazos, the injured worker, has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence against both SpaceX and one of its contractors, CCC Group. Cavazos claims he was crushed by a large metal support that fell from a crane while he was constructing a concrete wall.

Worker Suffers Severe Injuries, Files Lawsuit

According to the lawsuit filed in November, just days after the accident, Cavazos was working as a subcontractor for CCC Group, which SpaceX hired for concrete wall construction at the Starbase site. On November 15, a crane operator was lifting a "vertical formwork"—a structure designed to hold wet concrete in place until it dries—when one of its long metal supports allegedly detached and landed on Cavazos.

The impact resulted in a broken hip, knee, and tibia for Cavazos, along with other injuries to his neck, head, shoulders, back, and legs. His lawyers stated in the complaint that he "has and/or will undergo physical therapy, daily medications, pain management treatment, and/or surgical intervention in an attempt to control the pain caused by the injuries sustained in this incident."

Cavazos is seeking unspecified damages from both CCC Group and SpaceX, accusing them of negligence. The lawsuit claims the companies failed to ensure the metal support was properly secured and neglected to adequately warn workers of such hazards on the site, among other alleged safety violations. Representatives for CCC Group and SpaceX have not responded to requests for comment, and Cavazos’s lawyers declined to comment beyond the complaint's contents.

OSHA Investigation Underway

SpaceX reported the incident to OSHA, prompting the agency to open a "rapid response investigation." Joanna Hawkins, deputy regional director of public affairs for OSHA, confirmed that this type of investigation typically involves the agency requesting more information from the employer before deciding whether to conduct an on-site inspection. Hawkins noted that OSHA is currently awaiting SpaceX’s response to this request.

This is not the first time OSHA has investigated a crane-related incident at Starbase this year. The agency also launched a probe into a crane that collapsed at Starbase in late June 2025. It remains unclear if any workers were injured in that earlier accident, as neither SpaceX nor Starbase city officials have commented on the collapse, which was captured on live-streamed video by LabPadre.

Starbase's Troubling Safety Record

The recent accidents contribute to a growing list of safety concerns at SpaceX’s Starbase facility, where CEO Elon Musk is pushing for the rapid development of massive rockets for lunar and Martian missions. Workers at the South Texas site have reportedly sustained serious injuries for years.

A 2023 Reuters investigation into Starbase’s safety uncovered numerous previously unreported injuries, including the death of an employee in 2014 when construction first began. Publicly available data suggests the site continues to be more hazardous compared to other SpaceX facilities and those operated by its competitors.

A TechCrunch analysis of OSHA data from July found that Starbase had a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of approximately 4.27 injuries per 100 workers in 2024. This figure significantly surpasses the TRIRs at other SpaceX locations, such as its McGregor, Texas rocket testing facility (2.48 in 2024) and its Hawthorne, California site (1.43). For the aerospace manufacturing sector as a whole, the TRIR in 2024 was 1.6 injuries per 100 workers.

Debbie Berkowitz, former OSHA chief of staff, previously told TechCrunch that Starbase’s TRIR "is a red flag that there are serious safety issues that need to be addressed."

Transparency and Expansion Plans

Transparency regarding incidents at Starbase has also been an issue. Companies are required to report serious injuries involving hospitalizations, amputations, or loss of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours. While SpaceX appears to have reported Cavazos's injury, OSHA penalized the company $7,000 in early June for failing to report a different serious injury at Starbase. SpaceX contested the penalty, and an undisclosed settlement was reached.

Despite these safety concerns, SpaceX has ambitious plans to expand Starbase. The company is currently building "Gigabay," a $250 million, 700,000-square-foot rocket factory, expected to be completed by the end of 2026. SpaceX has stated this facility could produce up to 1,000 Starship rockets annually.

The pressure on SpaceX is further compounded by recent criticism from acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy, who chastised the company for slow progress in returning astronauts to the Moon. This came after Elon Musk referred to lunar missions as "a distraction" from Mars. Duffy even suggested that NASA might consider using rockets from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin to land humans on the Moon before China, which aims for 2029.