Workers who deal with trees as part of their job are often exposed to the risk of injury or death. The trees themselves can pose a threat to safety as can the saws, trucks, and other equipment that people who work cutting, clearing, and otherwise managing trees use in their jobs. A recent death in Mississippi involved a MDOT worker who was doing tree work.
Tree work injuries and deaths are not the exclusive provinces of novice or undertrained workers. The man who was recently killed in a Mississippi tree work accident had twelve years of experience with the highway department. The accident is still under investigation, and information has not been revealed about how it occurred. A statement from the Mississippi Department of Transportation says that after a severe weather event, MDOT workers go out onto the roads to clear away trees so that traffic, including highway repair and other storm response vehicles, can get to the locations they need to reach. Tree work is vital to keeping highways clear and communities in working order.
Whether you are a tree trimmer for a state or local highway department, a bucket truck operator for a utility company, a logger, or someone else who does tree work, following safe work procedures can reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and death. Unfortunately, investigations into some tree work injuries and fatalities reveal that those incidents may have been prevented.
One way to avoid injuries while working with trees is to stay clear of equipment that other people are operating. Trucks and other machines have blind spots, and some workplace injuries and deaths associated with tree work involve workers that got run over by a truck or other piece of equipment. If you are operating a truck or a piece of equipment, be sure that you know how to stabilize it and use it safely. Injuries and deaths can occur when trucks roll over because they have not been adequately secured. Steep slopes can cause skid steers and other equipment to roll over, injuring, or killing vehicle occupants. Know the limitations of the equipment that you are using, and do not operate it on slopes that it is not designed to handle.
Using safety equipment properly is key to preventing other tree work injuries and deaths. Also, regular maintenance and inspection of safety equipment are crucial to accident prevention, as some injuries and deaths have been caused by inadequate, broken, improperly maintained, or defective equipment.
Tree work can also be unpredictable because it is not always possible to completely control the movement of limbs, branches, and logs or the equipment that you are using to lift, lower, cut, and process them. Unfortunately, this means that not all tree work accidents, injuries, and deaths are preventable. Tree work has historically been a dangerous job. Though advances in safety equipment have made it safer, tree workers must maintain an awareness of the risks inherent in their work.
To learn more about how to file a workplace accident claim, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC today, at 1 (800) 707-9577.