Inspection Detail

Inspection: 308186105 - L Barrios & Associates, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Arizona Division Of Occupational Safety And Health (Adosh)

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on September 29, 2004, Employee #1 was trimming palm trees at a medical center. A coworker, collecting brush from recently trimmed trees, heard the sound of a chain saw. He looked across the street and saw Employee #1 in a 30 ft palm tree located in front of building Number 1. He then looked again when he heard the sound of the chain saw stop. At this moment, the coworker saw Employee #1 fall from the palm tree. He ran over to Employee #1 to find him laying on his back. The coworker told him not to move and ran into building Number 1. He had someone summon the emergency medical personnel. Emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene and transported Employee #1 to the medical center across the street. Employee #1 was conscious at the time emergency medical personnel arrived and told them he was clipping branches from palm tree when he lost his footing and fell. Employee #1 was air lifted to a university medical center, where he died. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 was wearing his own personal climbing belt. The belt has a long chain that can be thrown around the palm tree. He was also wearing spikes that were provided by the company. Employee #1's personal chain saw was being used to trim the palm tree. He was working on his own and was not being supervised by anyone at the company during the trimming operation.

Keywords: FALL, FALL PROTECTION, TREE TRIMMING