FACE Facts: Tree Trimmer Suffocated by Palm Branches!

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  A 40-year-old tree trimmer, Antonio V.*(* Not the victim's real name), died after being trapped and suffocated by drooping palm branches. Antonio had climbed an 80-foot palm tree to just below the dead branches. He began to cut them away from the trunk. Some cut branches were tangled with uncut branches and they flopped down onto his head and shoulders. He could not breathe and suffocated to death. No one knows if Antonio was ever trained in palm tree trimming. What Went Wrong? Antonio cut the branches from underneath. This put him directly in the path of drooping branches. The homeowner did not check to see if Antonio was trained or accredited in palm tree trimming. What Should Be done? Palm trees should always be trimmed from above. Tree trimmers or their supervisors should be trained or accredited in safe palm tree trimming practices by organizations such as the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) or the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Homeowners should only hire tree trimmers or companies who have received training or accreditation in palm tree trimming. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
• Keywords:
  • Injuries
  • Fatalities
  • Injury prevention
  • Safety practices
  • Tree trimmers
  • Suffocation
  • Training
  • Traumatic injuries
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• 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:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059487
• Citation:
  Richmond, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2010 Sep; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  California Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Branch, FACE Program, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, Third Floor, Richmond, CA 94804
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  FACE facts: tree trimmer suffocated by palm branches!
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228962/cdc_228962_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 481.97 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:91dc07e6032a0dce8ff19bf1922d805f1b632c32b4b2ebc1409bc3c2136ae072803fb2b8509aa638d22860791232772a4a8c3c2c5f736cff22f6a72d6e55e269