Tree service owner indicted in death

[PhilNH5]

The local paper has an article about a tree service company owner charged with negligent homicide. A 22 year old employee was crushed by a pine tree they were cutting down. The charges stem from this fact:

"The indictment - the first criminal action taken against Buzzell - accuses him of requiring his employees, including LaVigueur, to "stand in front of trees that were being felled, hold onto a rope and pull the tree directly toward them, and maintain that position under the tree, until the tree began to fall." The alleged practice violates "any reasonable standards of the industry and ignored safe alternatives that were available," the indictment said." Union Leader 6/10/08.

You can read the article here

http://unionleader.com/article.aspx...rticleId=74a2c3db-e98e-4ed9-aefe-41907ee557b7

Phil

 

[MikeD74T]

Here's a litle more info. seacoastonline.com MikeD74T

 

[ray66v]

Hard to conclude which of the two was dumber.

 

[MikeD74T]

Hard to conclude which of the two was dumber.

Just a little harsh Ray.
Nothing clearly describes the circumstance. Pulling in the line of fall is standard practice & often suggested on this forum. An OSHA fine of $12K indicated they're not overly concerned about the intent. $12K is far less than a lawyer would want for a retainer in this action. Obviously the other members of the pulling team escaped harm. No mention of this being the victim's first day on the job. Nothing mentioned that the company owner was even on the job. No mention of a wrongful death civil suit which has a much lower burden of proof. Obviously the rope wasn't long enough for the pullers to just stand their ground. I think this inditement is the work of an over zealous DA. Time will tell. This is never the less tragic for all involved. MikeD74T

 

[Treemonkey1000]

I agree with Mike D7. Doing the tree work that I do we usually have someone pulling on the rope in the direction of the fall. If I have the homeowner helping I do take the time to explain to get out of the way and which way to go. Usually that is common sense. The ropes that we use are also more than long enough. Now there are circumstances where you can't be far enough away. In those cases the escape route is planned out prior to the tree falling. It is a tragedy to lose anyone no matter what age. Being that young though is painful. The Company owner may have been negligent in not giving more Safety training for his employees. OSHA can start jacking up fines for poor maintennance on the equipment as well. Brakes not working on chainsaws or trucks, not wearing helmets, safety stops not working on chipppers.....

 

[workinallthetime]

I have an amazing respect for the industry, small time and the big time operations. I suffered a few stiches and a blow to my ego after the last ice storm down here, i no longer think of it as " have chain saw will cut" type of situation.
terrible waste of life

 

[ray66v]

from this fact:

"The indictment - the first criminal action taken against Buzzell - accuses him of requiring his employees, including LaVigueur, to "stand in front of trees that were being felled, hold onto a rope and pull the tree directly toward them, and maintain that position under the tree, until the tree began to fall." The alleged practice violates "any reasonable standards of the industry and ignored safe alternatives that were available," the indictment said." Union Leader 6/10/08.

Phil

If you think after reading this, I'm being harsh using the word "dumb", you would not have made it growing up in my neighborhood.

I have cut my share of trees, including my share of leaners, and widow makers, never have I had to endanger myself or anyone else in this fashion.

Both their actions and the end result speak for them self.

Calling ignoring safe alternatives to use this practice, "dumb" is actually being charitable.

However, you are entitled to your opinions.

 

[Mike_Kanzer]

I agree with Ray. Clearly the fact that the worker died taking down the tree indicates that he was not in a safe position and/or didn't know what the correct thing to do was when the tree came down. There may not be criminal intent in the actions, or lack of action, by the owner, but I'll bet there will be a very big civil action against the owner by the dead man's family. The bottom line is that it was a terrible tragedy and serves as a good lesson that you need to plan an "escape" route when felling a tree. My prayers go out to the family. - Mike

 

[MikeD74T]

Sorry Ray, I still think "dumb" is harsh. I too have taken down many trees, some in the woods, some beside houses. I could post an avatar similar to Treemonkey's where I limbed a tree (not that tall in New Hampshire though,) all the way to the top then cut the tree in 4' sections because there was no room to drop the whole tree. I suppose that was dumb because we coould have hired a crane for several hundred dollars and been more safe.
This incident happened two towns away from me. Nothing in any news article at the time of the event, nearly a year ago, laid any blame. This was a tragic accident, but it was never the less an accident. Some believe that people only die because it's their time. More money spent annually on that belief than on wrongful death lawsuits. I think this inditement is just a fund raiser for a few lawyers.
Glad to hear you survived your tough neighborhood. MikeD74T

 

[patrick_g]

We weren't there. We can't know the situation. Pulling in the direction of fall is common practice and NOT so stupid as may claim. Standing there and letting a tree fall on you is likely NOT what happened. The guy was either distracted, fell, or there was some other contributory factor we are not aware of. If the rope was too short then we start to see some negligence on the part of the guy in charge.

Work sites are often highly testosterone charged and supervisors often bully workers into doing unsafe things. There is great pressure to not be a coward or lose your job. We don't know all the circumstances. The deceased may have been a moronic clown, an accident waiting to happen or he may have been a pawn to the supervisor to be used however. Things are not always simple and clear cut. Many factors may have contributed to this situation.

I have read lots of accident/incident reports and the vast majority do not "just happen" but are usually the result of a combination of factors which add up to the final happening. Things you or the boss man might hate to try, over time may become standard procedure because no one got hurt so far. The more we "get away" with something the more we take chances. It is altogether likely that the boss was at least partially to blame and not unlikely that the worker contributed as well.

Pat