Abstract: At 10:00 a.m. on January 2, 2020, an employee in his late 20s was working for a firm that constructed and operated natural gas pipelines. He and a coworker were at a storage well. There was a group of dead ash trees near the storage well that represented a hazard to employees accessing the storage well. The two employees were removing the dead ash trees. They were using a chain saw and a Bobcat E35 excavator. The employee was operating a chain saw. The employee's coworker was operating a Bobcat E35 excavator. Depending on the tree, they would either fell it manually or push it over with the excavator. The excavator was not equipped with a falling object protection structure (FOPS), even though the manufacturer recommended that a FOPS be used in a situation where there was a chance of falling objects. Once the tree was lying on the ground, it would be cut up with the chain saw, regardless of how it got there. At the time of the incident, the employee's coworker was using the excavator to push over a dead ash tree that the two were felling. The tree being pushed got caught up in a nearby dead ash tree. The dead ash tree fell over and struck the employee as he was walking away. The employee was struck in the head. He suffered a spinal fracture. His back was broken from the T2 through T11 vertebrae, as well as a laceration. The broken back required surgery. He was hospitalized.