OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #564179
FRACTURE,HIGH WIND,HARD HAT,TREE FELLING,TREE LIMB,WORK RULES,LODGED TREE,SKULL,STRUCK BY
Event description
Employee dies after struck by falling tree
Investigation abstract
All marketable timber had been previously cut in a steep, hilly terrain logging diameter, struck Employee #1 on the top of his head. His hard hat was not damage d but he suffered a fractured skull and died in the hospital at approximately 8: 30 a.m. on April 7, 1990. There were no witnesses. This reconstruction is based on interviews with two employees who were working nearby and who went to aid Emp loyee #1. The two witnesses did not observe any hung or lodged trees when they l ooked earlier. site, and the company for which Employee #1 worked had been contracted by the US DA Forest Service to cut most of the remaining timber for re-generation, as hard wood will sprout back from stumps. At approximately 12:30 p.m. on April 2, 1990, Employee #1 was operating a chain saw to cut trees between 5 and 13 inches in d iameter when the upper limbs of one tree apparently became caught in another tre e. Employee #1 continued to work in the area, despite the lodged tree and gusty winds. He was cutting more trees about 40 ft from the lodged tree when the wind apparently caused it to come loose and fall. A small limb, 2 to 2 1/2 inches in
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 41 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 39
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Task assigned
- 1
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