Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1444391.015 - Treemasters Tree And Garden Care

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:00 a.m. on November 5, 2019, an employee working as a Climber for a tree care service was working on a hillside in a wooden area. The employer had been contracted by the homeowner to reduce the tops of the Coast Oaks trees on the hillside to improve the homeowner's view from the porch, as well as to remove a eucalyptus tree. The employee was working on a crew with five coworkers and the job was only a one-day job. Two coworkers (Climbers) were tasked with removing the Eucalyptus tree about 200 yards up the hill. Coworker #1 (Foreman) and the employee were also Climbers and were going to prune the Coast Oak trees. The other two coworkers were the grounds men assigned with assisting both crews. The employee and Coworker #1 were working on top of two different trees about 15 yards apart. The employee slipped and fell approximately 12 to 16 feet to the ground below. According to Coworker #1 (Foreman), Coworker #2 (Owner), and Coworker #3 (Safety Officer), and interviews with the employee and the other two coworkers, the employee was wearing his climbing harness and had his climbing rope tied to a limb. As the employee was transferring from one branch to another, he slipped. The employee did not have his positioning line tied at the time he slipped, so when he fell it put all the force on his climbing rope and the limb to which it was tied. The limb could not hold the force and it broke causing the employee to fall. The employee sustained closed fractures to several disks in his spinal column and was hospitalized from the day of the incident on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, to Friday, November 8, 2019.

Keywords: Back, Broke, Climbing, Climbing Line, Disc, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Fracture, Landscaping, Lifeline, Rope, Spine, Topping, Tree, Tree Climber, Tree Limb, Tree Pruner, Tree Trimming