Fall from collapsing structure or equipment 11 to 15 feet · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Penn Line Tree Service Inc, East Fifth St. Extension and Church St., CATAWISSA, PENNSYLVANIA 17820
on — Fractures, affecting the lumbar region.
Final narrative
On February 15, 2022, at approximately 3:20 PM, an employee was climbing a tree to perform utility line clearing work. The main stem (trunk) of the tree broke and the employee fell approximately 15 feet to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with compression fractures to their L1 and L2 vertebrae.
HospitalizedLumbar regionTrees
More severe injuries at Penn Line Tree Service Inc
An employee was in an aerial lift to prune vegetation with a chainsaw when the chainsaw kicked back and struck the right side of his face, resulting in a laceration between his chin and cheek.
An employee and his crew were removing a tree at a residence. He walked into the drop zone just as a bucket operator cut a branch. The branch struck the employee between the shoulder blades, knocking him to the ground. The employee suffered a fracture to a singular transverse process bone in the thoracic area of his back.
A cherry tree was being felled. It had been roped off and attached to a rope puller (come-along). A dead limb broke off the tree and struck the rope, which caused the rope puller to strike the employee operating it in the mouth. The employee suffered a broken jaw and a laceration to the neck.
An employee was cutting a cherry tree. As the tree fell it became stuck on adjacent hickory and maple trees. The employee began working to remove the hickory tree to dislodge the cherry tree and his saw became stuck in the hinge wood. He was removing the saw when the hickory tree fell on his knee and pinned him to the ground. The employee sustained a dislocation.
An employee was holding a branch against a log on the ground to make a wedge while another employee was using a chainsaw to cut the wedge. The saw slipped and struck the employee holding the branch, resulting in a laceration to the right wrist.
An employee was removing a safety railing from a stairwell. The 2x10 plank they were standing on gave way and the employee fell approximately 12 feet to a lower level, resulting in fractures.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get to the top of a container. The ladder collapsed and the employee fell 13 feet to the concrete floor, sustaining a fractured pelvis and tailbone.
Two employees were cleaning the ducts on top of a pipe. The pipe gave way and the employees and the pipe fell 15 feet. The pipe landed on one employee's leg, resulting in a fracture in three places and hospitalization. The other employee was not injured.
An employee was walking on the roof deck performing roofing work when the deck collapsed. The employee fell approximately 13 feet to the ground below, resulting in fractures and bruising to the hips, head, and chest.
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 walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.