Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1174947.015 - Jared'S Tree Service

Inspection Information - Office: Miosha General Industry Safety & Health Division

Investigation Summary

At 2:00 p.m. on August 15, 2016, an employee was removing the upper section of a tree while aloft using climbing gear and tied off with a saddle. A rope was tied to the tree section above the employee with the other end attached to a vehicle to pull it away from a private residence. The employee had notched the trunk and was making a back cut with a chain saw when the blade became pinched. He instructed his coworker to allow some slack in the rope and, as the vehicle backed up, the upper portion of the tree snapped and fell in the opposite direction it was being pulled. The rope went between the employee and the section of the tree he was tied off to. The weight of the falling tree section forced the rope to pull the employee backward from where his saddle was tied off and across his body. The employee was killed from internal injuries to his abdomen and chest as well as sustaining head trauma.

Keywords: Abdomen, Chain Saw, Chest, Head, Rigging, Rope, Struck By, Tree Felling