Inspection Detail

Inspection: 115503807 - Robert A Anderson

Inspection Information - Office: Dosh Tacoma Service Location, Tacoma, Wa

Investigation Summary

At about 8:00 a.m. on May 5, 1992, Employee #1 and his helper arrived at the North Bend Logging work site. They were not considered to be employed by the company because Employee #1 had brought the truck involved onto this work site and had advertised as a truck and operator available to haul. A topper and a groundperson employed by North Bend Logging felled tree #1 in the back and then all four workers began cutting it into pieces. The topper and groundperson began working on tree #2 in front while Employee #1 and his helper started loading limbs from tree #1. Wind forced the topper to cease work on tree #2, so he and the groundperson moved to the back and began work on tree #3. Employee #1 and his helper began loading the limbs from tree #2. The topper told the groundperson to ask Employee #1 and his helper to come and help pull the rope attached to the top of tree #3. As the top fell, it caused branches of adjacent trees to break, one of which struck Employee #1 in the head and killed him.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, TREE FELLING, TREE LIMB, WORK RULES, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT