Abstract: On August 13, 2008, an employee was working as a laborer for Dobson's Tree Service in Arlington, Virginia. He was not a regular employee of the company. Instead, he was called upon by the company owners whenever the company needed a tree climber. This happened a few days a month. The employee was trimming a tree. He was using an Echo CS-360T chainsaw with a 356-millimeter (14-inch) bar. The branch he was working on was approximately 3.1 meters (10 feet, 3 inches) long and 13 millimeters (0.5 inches) in diameter. The trunk of the tree was approximately 2.4 meters (8 feet) from an overhead power line. At least one conductor ran right through the tree. It was energized at 19.9 kilovolts. The employee was working at a height of approximately 6.9 meters (22 feet, 8 inches) above the ground. The power line was approximately 8.5 meters (27 feet, 10 inches) above ground level. The branch he was cutting made contact with the overhead power line, and the employee was electrocuted. An investigation revealed that company owners were onsite at the time of the accident and aware that overhead high voltage lines were close to the tree branches being cut. No action was taken to deenergize or cover the power lines or to provide other means of protection from electric shock other than to instruct employees to use a rope to lower the branches.