Abstract: On November 13, 1996, Employee #1, a faller and limber on a logging crew, was cutting down a tree that was inaccessible to mechanized equipment. He was struck on his hard hat by a limb that fell out of the top of the tree. He was initially thought to have a broken neck and was transported to the local hospital and then transferred to Asheville (NC) for further evaluation. He was released the following day with only a neck brace. His employer stated he thought the brace was a precaution in case there was a hairline crack somewhere in the neck. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident, and coworkers said during subsequent interviews that they had come back to where Employee #1 was working and found him needing assistance. The tree was not available for inspection, and they could not remember if it was a snag or a sound tree with storm damage that allowed the limb to break away when disturbed.