Inspection Detail

Inspection: 313555963 - Expert Tree & Stump Removal, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

On June 29, 2009, the owner of Expert Tree & Stump Removal, Inc. was working with five coworkers at a private residence in the Phoenix area of Baltimore County. They were removing two large poplar trees and some smaller ones from the front yard of the property. A worker positioned in a tree had cut approximately ten of the lower branches using a chain saw. The cut branches were lowered to the ground with a rope and then were picked up and taken to the chipper machine that was parked in the driveway by the ground workers. Small branch stumps (nubs) were left on the tree. After the large branches were cut, the worker in the tree started cutting the nubs off the tree before going higher. All but two nubs had been cut off the tree. When the worker in the tree was at an elevation of 55 to 60 ft, he yelled to the ground crew to alert them that he was about to cut another nub. The owner of the company was working around the base of the tree handling the rope. The chipper machine was running and was loud enough to drown out the verbal signal that the worker in the tree gave. Just before he began cutting, the worker in the tree yelled "headache," meaning a section of the tree was being cut and would be falling to the ground so the workers on the ground should get clear and look out. None of the workers were wearing hard hats. As the worker was cutting, the owner walked around the base of the tree, and a falling nub struck the owner on the crown of his skull, causing him to collapse with a serious head wound. He was bleeding profusely. The police and fire departments responded within minutes. The home owner started giving CPR, and did so until the rescue squad arrived. The owner was transported to the Jacksonville Volunteer Fire Station, where he was picked-up and flown to Shock Trauma. At 12:00 noon, Shock Trauma informed a Baltimore County Police Officer that the worker was in critical condition. The owner died from his injuries the next day. The nub that struck the owner of the company was 27 inches in circumference and 12.5 in. long. With the homeowner's permission, the nub that struck the owner was taken by inspectors and weighed on a Pitney Bowles scale. It weighed approximately 19.5 lbs.

Keywords: TREE PRUNER, HEAD, HARD HAT, WORK RULES, TREE, TREE SECTION, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, TREE TRIMMING, INATTENTION