A Tree Trimmer Dies When He is Crushed by Palm Tree Fronds

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cierpich, Hank ; Harrison, Robert ; Styles, Laura
• Corporate Authors:
  California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (CA/FACE) ; California. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch
• Description:
  A tree trimmer died while trimming the palm fronds from a 50-foot palm tree in the yard of a private residence. This was the fourth palm tree the victim climbed that day. The victim climbed the palm tree and got underneath the dead palm fronds and began to pull them off the tree. A few minutes later the victim called for help, stating he was stuck and was suffocating. The police and fire departments responded to the co-worker's 911 call, but were unable to reach the victim, so additional support was requested. Thermal imaging was used to locate the victim in the tree, and an aerial ladder truck was used to reach the victim. The victim was not trained or certified by any arborist or tree association. The contributing factors identified in this investigation were improper work practices in the removal of dead palm fronds and the lack of correct equipment. The CA/FACE investigator determined that, in order to prevent future incidents, tree care companies and self-employed tree workers who trim or remove palm trees should ensure that: 1. Palm tree trimming or removal is performed or supervised by workers trained and certified by organizations such as the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) or the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). 2. Proper work procedures and equipment are used. In addition, homeowners who need palm trees trimmed or removed should: 3. Hire only tree workers who are trained or certified by organizations such as the TCIA or ISA. In addition, it is preferable that homeowners should only hire companies that have a current tree trimming contractor's license (in states where this is applicable). Also, fire departments in locations with palm trees should: 4. Develop and implement rescue protocols for trapped palm tree trimmers.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Race Factors Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Employee-exposure Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 9 Racial-factors Safety-equipment Safety-practices Sociological-factors Training Traumatic-injuries

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Hispanic ; Other ; Landscaping Services
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE12CA006
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045602
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2015-102769
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 12CA006, 2013 Nov ; :1-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2eafb1d96ea51894061c5ecdfe8f82c29250ad042cbbe95e3f620ef88fc64367572486f0f8f7b4d423fb773273c226bc48e6ff28e7f70ca2ea4970e49a32698f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/165116/cdc_165116_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 428.93 KB ]