Incident date: 2017-11-22
NAICS industry code: 561730

Groundsmen were felling a 28-foot cherry tree with a 22-inch diameter base when the tree rotated on its base, spinning and falling in the opposite direction of what they anticipated. An employee was running along the pre-planned escape route when the tree struck his right shoulder and head, knocking him to the ground where he briefly lost consciousness. The employee suffered a skull fracture. He was wearing a hard hat at the time.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Struck by falling object or equipment, n.e.c.
code_source: title: Trees
code_nature: title: Fractures
code_body: title: Skull
severity: moderate