Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 200052041 - Employee killed by falling tree

Accident Summary Nr: 200052041 -- Report ID: 0728900 -- Event Date: 05/15/2003
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
306016536	05/15/2003	1629	237990	Legrande Excavating, Inc.

Abstract: On May 15, 2003, Employee #1 was using an excavator to fell trees at a highway widening project. To conduct this operation, he would sever the root structure of the tree by digging trenches around the tree, and then use the boom of the excavator to push the tree over. The area was on the southwest edge of a creek bed and had received several inches of rain the previous week. While digging the last trench around a tree approximately 200-ft-tall and over 5-ft in diameter at its base, the tree fell over onto the excavator. Employee #1 was found approximately 30 to 40 minutes later by a state inspector, dead inside the crushed excavator cab.

Keywords: TREE FELLING, TREE, EXCAVATOR

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Highway, road, street		Alteration or rehabilitation		$1,000,000 to $5,000,000			X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	306016536			Fatality	Other	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Site clearing and grubbing Fatality Cause: Struck by falling object/projectile

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