Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025
105,991Records 71,450Employers 85,836Hospitalizations 27,959Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-11-30

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221464357

R & J TREE SERVICE, LLC

Event
Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Harness, Tree, Tree Care, Tree Trimming
NAICS
561730
Inspection type
Federal Agency
Activity number
#345977367
Employer profile
R & J TREE SERVICE, LLC
Summary number
221464357
Report ID
0522300

Event description

Employee is killed in fall from decaying tree

Investigation abstract

At 7:30 a.m. on May 20, 2022, an employee, a co-owner of the business, was cutting a branch on a maple tree, approximately 70 to 80 foot tall, to be lowered by rope. Prior to cutting the branch, the employee and his coworker inspected the tree for decay and any other hazards and determined that the tree was safe to climb. The employee was wearing a proper climbing harness, two forms of fall protection, and was attached to the tree. The tree was decaying and when the branch was cut, the tree began to sway and broke off at the ground. The employee fell approximately 50 feet to the ground and was killed as a result of blunt force injuries.

Victim

  1. #1 Fatality Age 27 M

    Event type
    5

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.