Logging Injury Alert: Timber Cutter Killed After Walking Under a Standing Cut Up Tree

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  In October 2010, a 55-year-old timber cutter with more than 30 years of experience was killed when a 10-inch hemlock tree fell on him. The victim and another cutter were hired to fell second growth timber. On the day of the incident, the victim and the other cutter got onsite before daylight and walked to their strips. Both cutters were properly equipped and wearing the necessary PPE. The weather was clear with a slight breeze. The victim was felling a stand of trees on slightly sloped ground. The stand was to be yarded through a patch of timber that needed to be left for wildlife. This means that the victim had to buck some of the trees to ensure they could be yarded. The victim had felled three trees successfully in this stand and started to work on a fourth, a 10-inch hemlock. After he made the face and back cuts the wind blew and the tree set back. The victim did not set wedges while making the backcut. The victim decided to leave the tree standing, and start bucking the felled trees. The victim walked in front of the cut and standing tree, when the wind died, and the tree fell towards the victim. The tree struck the victim on the right side of his head and shoulder, crushing his head against a previously felled tree. The other cutter, who was working approximately 400 feet away, didn't see any trees falling on the victim's strip and turned off his saw to listen. The other cutter only heard the victim's saw idling and decided to check on the victim. The cutter found the victim pinned between two logs with the 10-inch hemlock on top of him. He assessed the situation, and went to the landing to let the shovel operator know that the victim was hurt and needed emergency medical personnel. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Forestry Hazardous Substances Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Fatalities Forestry Workers Hazard Recognition Hazards Logging Industry Logging Workers
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060868
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 92-04-2013, 2013 Apr; :1-2
• Email:
  Eric.Jolonen@Lni.wa.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Logging injury alert: timber cutter killed after walking under a standing cut up tree
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b3ee646264bdc4cbff26afbd0a41ee70425b7de08394578cd46cd1770b6176a308573e1939924ad5ca98bc2b935d9a3fac316e9db491affcaaae57678b654d3f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224652/cdc_224652_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 265.76 KB ]