Abstract: At about 8:30 a.m. on February 23, 2005, Employee #1 and two coworkers were working at a site where Employee #1 had felled a red oak the day before. The tree, 10 to 12 in. in diameter at the stump, had split, leaving approximately 6 feet attached to the stump, with the remainder of the tree down across a roadway. Following their employer's instructions, they had left the tree until they could return the following day, the 23rd, with a track hoe to push the tree over. On the morning of the accident, after Employee #1 and Employee #2 sharpened their saw blades at the truck, Employee #1 left to clear brush until the red oak was pushed over. Meanwhile, their employer, the firm's owner, was directing Employee #3, the track hoe operator, to push the tree over. Employee #2 heard a chain saw start. The employer saw that the tree had moved and ran to where employee #1 had been. Employee #1 had been cutting the red oak at the split. It had fallen on him, killing him.