Incident date: 2016-02-23
NAICS industry code: 238910

On February 23, 2016, at approximately 10:40 am, an employee and his crew were clearing a powerline right-of-way. A 1/2-inch rope was placed in the tree and held by the foreman. The employee notched and back cut the 26-inch diameter poplar tree, 107 feet in height. Using the 1/2-inch rope, 120 to 150 feet in length, the foreman began tugging on the rope to assist the tree to the ground. Once the tree was safely on the ground, the foreman yelled "clear" and no one answered. The foreman found the employee on the retreat path, face down on the ground, in the opposite direction of the felled tree. The employee was rolled over and his face was covered with blood. He suffered face and head injuries and was hospitalized.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Other fall to lower level more than 30 feet
code_source: title: Trees
code_nature: title: Intracranial injuries, n.e.c.
code_body: title: Brain
severity: moderate