Fall or jump curtailed by personal fall arrest system · Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Asplundh Tree Expert Company, 2288 Shady Glen Rd, NEW CUMBERLAND, WEST VIRGINIA 26047
on — Soreness, pain, hurt-nonspecified injury, affecting the back, including spine, spinal cord, unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was trimming branches from a tree when they slipped from a branch. The fall protection system engaged, causing the employee to swing and hit the trunk of the tree. The employee was hospitalized with a lower back injury.
HospitalizedBack, including spine, spinal cord, unspecifiedTrees
More severe injuries at Asplundh Tree Expert Company
An employee was struck by a truck while flagging traffic. The employee suffered multiple fractures to the left shoulder, left leg, right leg, lumbar spine, right wrist, and left arm, as well as tears to the ligaments of their left knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was up a tree, trimming tree branches with a chainsaw. The chainsaw cut his lanyard and he fell to the ground about 18 feet below. He suffered fractured vertebrae in his lower back, as well as a punctured bowel, and was hospitalized.
An employee was delimbing a cut-down tree. One of the limbs kicked back and struck the employee between the ankle and the knee, breaking the employee's tibia.
After trimming a tree, an employee was taking off climbing gear while on the ground. The employee was removing the right climbing gaff and slipped, causing the gaff to impale the employee's left calf.
A piece of a tree that had grown into a service drop was removed. It came loose and fell, striking an employee on the ground. The employee suffered broken ribs.
An employee was walking along a trench inspecting the trench box in the excavation when he tripped and fell toward the trench. As the employee was falling head-first into the trench, he attempted to get a hold of the fall protection cable. The cable then looped around his left hand and the employee fell approximately 8 feet into the trench before the fall protection engaged. The employee suffered amputations of his left index, middle, ring, and little fingers.
A ranger was performing back-country patrol duties while hiking. As they were climbing a technical rock patch, a rock handhold broke, causing the employee to fall approximately 15 feet before their belay engaged. The employee contacted a rock, resulting in a fracture to the right ilium as well as a subcutaneous hematoma to the right gluteal region.
Employees were erecting structural steel. The injured employee was sitting on a 12" wide horizontal member and lining up an I-beam brace as it was suspended by an overhead crane. He leaned left to push the end of the brace. The end of the suspended brace swung away from him, causing him to lose balance and fall 8 feet. His personal fall arrest system arrested his fall, but he swung into a piece of duct work during the fall that resulted in a concussion.
On September 12, 2022, an employee was on a metal roof, installing a standing seam and insulation. He lost his balance and fell toward the third floor slab, which was 10 feet from the roof. His fall protection caught him and left him suspended about 2 to 4 feet from the slab. He suffered a brain bleed and a spinal fracture in his lower back. He was hospitalized.
An employee was working from a bucket lift, removing a tree in sections. He lost his balance while pushing on a section and fell. His fall protection caught him and he swung into a tree, suffering an injury that caused head, neck, and leg pain, as well as loss of consciousness while he was at the hospital.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 561730)
An employee was helping to set up a mulch blowing truck when they were struck by an oncoming vehicle. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured knee, a concussion, and a head laceration; they also received stitches on their arm.
An employee was using a table saw to cut a piece of wood when the saw cut his thumb, index, and middle fingers. His index finger was amputated and he was hospitalized.
An employee was mowing a residential lawn at a client's house. The mower slid on the land and tipped over onto him. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured vertebra in the neck and partial paralysis.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An employee was climbing down a 15-foot multipurpose ladder. The employee fell about 8 feet, landing on the concrete floor and the ladder itself. The employee suffered several injuries, all on the right side: broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken temporal bone, broken shoulder, multiple fractures to the cheekbone, and a brain bleed.
An employee was rolling up the landing gear on his trailer when the handle began to unwind and struck his face, fracturing his jaw. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.