Landscaping Serivces Fatality Narrative: Tree Trimmer Falls 25 Feet from Bucket

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 59-year-old experienced tree trimmer died after falling from an aerial bucket that got caught on a branch. He worked for his employer, a tree care service company, for 24 years as a trimmer and bucket operator. He was on a three-member crew pruning birch trees at a private home. They were using a bucket truck to remove damaged branches. He went up in the bucket alone while his co-workers worked on the ground. He was wearing all required personal protective equipment (PPE), including a fall arrest harness. After cutting a few branches, he had to move the truck to change the bucket angle near the tree. He lowered the bucket and unclipped his harness to get out. A co-worker helped him move the truck and set the outriggers. No one saw him re-enter the bucket before he went up again. As the bucket went up, the ground crew saw the truck tilting toward the passenger side with its wheels off the ground. The bucket appeared to be caught and pressing on a branch with enough force to tilt the truck. When the bucket broke free of the branch, the truck's wheels slammed down and shook the bucket so violently it ejected the trimmer 25 feet to the ground. The ground crew ran to him, called 911, and began CPR as directed by emergency dispatchers. First responders soon arrived but pronounced him dead at the scene from severe fall injuries. Following the incident, investigators found: The worker's fall arrest harness lanyard was not tied-off in the bucket. The employer had a fall protection work plan and the crew had a pre-job safety briefing. The bucket truck manufacturer inspected and found the vehicle to be in safe operating order. REQUIREMENTS: Employers must: Before elevating the platform (aerial bucket), ensure all persons on the platform wear a full body harness with a lanyard attached to either: (a) The manufacturer's recommended attachment point; or (b) The boom or platform if the manufacturer does not specify an attachment point. The employee must never attach a lanyard to an adjacent pole, structure, or equipment. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded, that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: Develop and enforce policies and standard operating procedures (SOP) in their accident prevention program (APP) requiring: A co-worker be present to observe when the bucket operator enters the bucket. The bucket operator to give the co-worker visual confirmation they are wearing a personal fall arrest harness with the lanyard tied-off in the bucket before going up. The co-worker to yell "all stop" or use a small air horn and press the boom's emergency stop switch when an unexpected hazardous situation needs to end quickly to prevent injury. Update policies to reflect changes in site conditions and fall protection equipment. Review policies with workers at crew meetings, monthly safety meetings, and annual fall prevention stand-downs. Provide recurring hands-on fall protection training and ensure workers maintain skill proficiency. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accident Prevention Accidents Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Fall Protection Falls Harnesses Personal Protective Equipment PPE Tree Trimmers
• 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:20070034
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-257-2024, 2024 Aug; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Landscaping serivces fatality narrative: tree trimmer falls 25 feet from bucket
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:eafd358ce5134345fc96b3c1512c561c1acc646665ed52c79898b193bc1b8768a6033c97e39321e165ddb68ebd0b46b9dc425343c40bc7f5083e6706df4902c0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229228/cdc_229228_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 651.18 KB ]