Incident date: 2015-05-21
NAICS industry code: 561730

A crew worked doing line clearance tree trimming.  An employee not involved in the tree felling operation stood 35 feet from a cherry tree to be felled.  Employees working from bucket trucks limbed the cherry tree to a height of 18 feet.  Then, an employee manually felled the cherry tree.  The cherry tree had a small limb that remained on the back side.  When the employee felling the cherry tree made the back cut and the cherry tree fell, the remaining limb on the cherry tree struck a nearby ash tree.  The ash tree stood 40 feet high.  Because the ash tree was dead, it became uprooted when struck by the falling cherry tree.  When the ash tree fell, it struck the employee standing 35 feet away from the cherry tree.  This employee suffered a dislocated hip, contusions, and a possible concussion.  The employee was hospitalized for his injuries.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Struck by falling object or equipment, n.e.c.
code_source: title: Trees
code_nature: title: Dislocations, unspecified
code_body: title: Hip(s)
severity: moderate