Abstract: At 9:45 a.m. on February 21, 2017, employees were removing two oak trees from the front yard of a residential home. An employee climbed the first tree using spurs, a positioning belt, and a flip line that wrapped around the trunk. A secondary climbing line was attached to an adjacent tree that was not being removed. The employee was responsible for cutting off manageable sections of the tree. Prior to cutting the sections, these pieces were tied off using work lines. A natural crotch of the second tree to be removed served as a suspension point and employees working from the ground slowly lowered each piece to the ground using the work line. After the first tree was completely removed, the employee climbed the second tree the same way. The employee made the first cut and the piece was lowered to the ground using a false crotch attached below the cut (similar to a pulley system). At this point, the employee was located approximately 40 feet above the ground. While the employee was rigging the next section of the tree to be lowered to the ground, the tree snapped and collapsed at a point located approximately 10 feet above the ground. The tree was rotted, decayed, and hollow at its base from the ground to a point where it broke. The void measured approximately 12 inches in diameter. The base of the tree was approximately 27 inches wide and 17 inches wide where it snapped. The thickness of the standing wood and the bark surrounding the void totaled approximately 2-1/4 inches. The tree fell over and the employee was pulled it to the ground. The employee landed next to the tree when he hit the ground. The motion and weight of the falling tree caused the tree branch used as a secondary attachment point on the adjacent tree to snap and fall to ground as well. The employee's head hit the ground causing severe head trauma resulting in death.