OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221425622

RICE TREE SERVICE

BELLOWS FALLS, VT· 2021-09-09T00:00:00

Event: Broken, Broken Bone, Caught By, Climber, Climbing, Dragged, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Femur, Fracture, Harness, Lack of Work Procedures, Leg, Lifeline, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Rope, Sheared, Struck By, Tree, Tree Branch, Tree Climber, Tree Climbing System, Tree Felling, Tree Limb, Tree Shear, Unsafe Position
NAICS: 561730
Inspection type: Referral
Activity number: #345525836
Employer profile: RICE TREE SERVICE
Summary number: 221425622
Report ID: 0155010

Event description

Employee breaks leg when knocked out of tree by sheared bran

Investigation abstract

At 10:00 a.m. on September 9, 2021, an employee working as a forestry worker for a tree service was tying off his climbing rope and safety line to a tree. The employee was climbing the tree and removing branches so he could fell the tree. The employee was standing on a large approximately 12-inch diameter branch securing his line to the same branch. As the employee cut the branch above his climbing rope and safety line, the branch sheared off grabbing his rope and harness and dragged the employee out of the tree. The employee was hospitalized to treat a broken femur.

Victim

#1 Hospitalized Age 45 M

Event type
5

Occupation code
495

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.