105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14565667

COLLAPSE,PALM TREE,PINNED,SAFETY BELT,CARDIAC ARREST,TREE TRIMMING

Event
COLLAPSE,PALM TREE,PINNED,SAFETY BELT,CARDIAC ARREST,TREE TRIMMING
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14565667
Report ID
950411

Event description

CAUGHT BETWEEN TREE AND FALLING PALM FRONDS.

Investigation abstract

ON NOVEMBER 23, 1985 AT APPROXIMATELY 11:30 AM, EMPLOYEE #1 WAS IN THE PROCESS O F PRUNING AND TRIMMING A PALM TREE. HE WAS AT AN ELEVATION OF APPROXIMATELY 40 F EET, USING A SAFETY BELT THAT WAS ATTACHED TO THE TREE, AND HE HAD CLIMBING SPIK ES ON HIS SHOES. HE WAS UNDER A BUNCH OF ROTTED AND DRIED-UP PALM FRONDS THAT WE RE NOT WELL SECURED TO THE TREE. APPARENTLY, HIS ACTIVITY AROUND THESE FRONDS CA USED SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS OF FRONDS TO COLLAPSE AROUND HIM AND PIN HIM IN A BA CKWARD POSITION TO THE TREE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FREED HIM IN ABOUT 22 MINUTES A ND TRANSPORTED HIM TO THE TUCSON MEDICAL CENTER. AT APPROXIMATELY 6:00 PM EMPLOY EE #1 DIED OF CARDIAC ARREST, APPARENTLY CAUSED BY THE ACCIDENT.

Victim

  1. #1 Fatality Age 28 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    2
    Source
    43
    Occupation code
    486
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    6
    Task assigned
    1

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.