Fatality Narrative: Excavator Operator Struck by Falling Tree Limb

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On December 11, 2002, an owner/operator was killed when a falling tree limb struck him as he was using the bucket of an excavator to push over a tree. The victim was a 61-year-old male using a rented excavator to clear his rural property to begin development of a recreational vehicle campsite. He was an experienced equipment operator who understood the hazards of logging. He had logged the site of saleable timber several years before. He was using the bucket of the excavator to push over a 105-foot maple tree that was about 18 inches in diameter at breast height. It was raining hard with winds blowing 15 to 20 miles per hour. The top of the tree leaned over the excavator's cab as the victim attempted to push the tree sideways with the left side of the excavator bucket. He opened the excavator cab door and leaned out to look up and was struck in the head by a falling dead tree limb measuring about 5 inches in diameter by 12 feet long. The limb fell from a height of about 85 feet. The victim was not wearing a hard hat. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Education Forestry Mortality Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Falling Object Protective Structure Fatalities FOPS Hazards Logging Safety Falling Objects Logging Workers Personal Protection Protective Equipment Protective Measures Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers Worker Safety

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• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• 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
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051948
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-11-2003, 2003 Jul; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: excavator operator struck by falling tree limb
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:27f90f53659ace7139b11487365ce68c8e1e742141753687092a0fa644fafafd26b5ea9dfdc4147bf26087e31abb382479ce2f2b669deaafed5acf3b8483a7e8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228862/cdc_228862_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 11.98 KB ]