Asplundh Tree Expert Co.

An employee fell from a tree while trimming it.

At 9:30 a.m. on August 4, 2021, a two-person crew was trimming branches on a 36-foot locust tree using an elevator lift truck. An employee was in the elevated bucket of the boom truck using a stick saw. While he was lowering the boom to clear some hangers, the walking pin to the hydraulic cylinder failed. The upper boom and bucket fell about 7.9 feet, coming to rest on the top of the cab protection rack. The employee suffered a head laceration and was hospitalized.

An employee was trimming a pecan tree with a hand saw. He had climbed the tree and was pulling a limb back to cut it when the limb contacted power lines. The employee was shocked and suffered burns to both hands and both knees.

An employee was walking around his work truck on muddy terrain when he slipped and fell in the mud. His left hip struck a 6-inch tree stump and was broken.

An employee was pulling/stacking tree limbs on the curb when he felt nauseous and dizzy and was ill. He was hospitalized with a heat related illness.

An employee was making modifications to an electrical panel when an arc flash occurred. The employee suffered burns to multiple parts of the body.

An employee was installing a ground wire to a power transmission pole. The ground wire contacted an energized portion of a cut-out, causing an arc-flash. The employee was hospitalized with second degree burns to their chest and arms.

An employee was connecting a utility transformer for underground service to a home. The employee's impact drill went across two connection bars with 240 volts of potential, creating an arc flash. The employee sustained burns to the face and eyes due to the arc flash and molten aluminum.

On December 15, 2023, at 9:15 AM, an employee was changing 60-amp fuses in a 480-volt panel when an arc flash occurred. The employee was hospitalized with burns to both hands.

An employee had just turned off breakers and was loosening wires on panels when they were shocked by 480 volts of electricity.

An employee was cleaning leaves with a backpack blower when he fell from a ladder, resulting in injuries to his head, neck, and back.

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 rappelling down a tree. When he was most of the way down, he fell on the ground and suffered a broken pelvis.

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 tripped over a stool and fell on the floor, resulting in a left displaced mid-cervical femoral neck fracture.

An employee was installing fence posts when they stepped into a recently dug hole that was not visible due to rainfall. The employee's leg was fractured.

An employee assisted in cleaning material from a conveyor pit. After the pit was cleaned, the employee proceeded to replace metal safety plates to ensure other employees did not fall into the pit. While replacing one of the last plates, the employee mis-stepped and fell approximately 5 feet into the pit. The employee was hospitalized with back/side bruising, elbow bruising, bone bruises, and/or fractured ribs.

An employee was inspecting a breaker box and turning on/off a circuit breaker when he was electrocuted.

An employee was walking on the sidewalk. When they stepped off the curb, they fell to the ground, resulting in fractures to their tibia, fibula, and a metatarsal.