Abstract: At approximately 11:00 a.m. on June 1, 2009, Employee #1 was working for an employer specializing in land and tree maintenance, feeding branch debris and leaves into a Vermeer wood chipper, Model Number BC1000XL. Simultaneously, a nearby coworker was using a rope to access the branches still located in the tree. This rope, which was hanging from the trunk of the tree, became coiled near the base of the tree and was covered by the pile of branch and leaf debris. As Employee #1 was feeding the wood chipper, the hidden rope was inadvertently fed into the chipper. The rope became entangled around Employee #1 and pulled him into the side of the wood chipper with great force, knocking him unconscious. Employee #1 was taken to Scripps La Jolla Hospital in San Diego, California, where he was hospitalized and treated for severe trauma to his head and chest.