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Tree work incident reports: the official case library

A table of tree work fatality reports published by the United States FACE program, the Health and Safety Executive and WorkSafeBC, with the type of incident and the factors each report lists.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the official sources say. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It lists tree work fatality reports that official bodies published: the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program run with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the United States, the Health and Safety Executive's tree work case studies in Great Britain and WorkSafeBC's investigation summaries in British Columbia. No victim is named and no firm is named. Each entry is in our own words and the factors are the ones each report lists. The program says its reports do not determine fault or blame.

United States and Canada: reports read on October 8, 2026

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's tree care page links 15 reports from this program. Eleven are tree work incidents, read from the report files and sorted here, and the table also holds one WorkSafeBC summary. The other four sit at the edge of tree work (a wildland firefighter struck by a hazard tree, a driver crushed by a rolling chip truck at a sawmill, a date palm worker stung by bees and an owner overcome by gas in a chip boiler hopper) and are read and listed here too, each with a page of its own. Newest first.

Date of incident and reportType of incident, factors the report lists and where to read it
February 13, 2023. California FACE, 23CA001Struck-by (palm fronds, asphyxia). Factors: Fronds removed from below, wrong equipment for the job, trimmers and supervisor not certified or licensed. Page on this site: report 23CA001
September 2022. WorkSafeBC, 2022184470047Tree failure, fall with the stem. Factors: Decayed base, arborist not a certified faller, no tree assessment or climbing plan, supervision and contractor checks lacking. Page on this site: incident 2022184470047
August 18, 2022. Oregon FACE, 22OR001Struck-by (burned green tree fell on a wildland fire crew). Factors: Unrecognized hazards of previously burned green trees, crew inside the fall radius with low visibility, time to reach definitive care, many first-time crew members, communication barriers. Page on this site: report 22OR001
April 2, 2020. Washington FACE, 21WA5248Fall from a boom lift basket. Factors: No fall protection worn, gate open, overreaching, crowded basket, no accident prevention program or job hazard analysis. Page on this site: report 21WA5248
July 29, 2019. Washington FACE, 22WA5252Crush (chip truck rolled away at a sawmill, edge of tree work). Factors: Uneven grade at the tarping area, parking brake rules not followed, inadequate brake and wheel chock policy, too few safety audits. Page on this site: report 22WA5252
April 9, 2018. California FACE, 18CA002Caught-in (stump grinder). Factors: Rope tied to the grinder and the worker, no training, no manual, helper inside the 75 foot zone. Page on this site: report 18CA002
March 25, 2018. Massachusetts FACE, 18MA022Carbon monoxide (chip boiler fuel hopper, edge of tree work). Factors: No adequate ventilation, no carbon monoxide monitoring, an unidentified confined space, unclear warning labels and little training, no program covering confined space entry and lockout. Page on this site: report 18MA022
March 15, 2018. California FACE, 18CA001Electrical (palm near high voltage lines). Factors: Lines within 10 feet not treated as a hazard, no qualified tree worker or job briefing, worker alone, no electrical training. Page on this site: report 18CA001
Late winter 2018. Michigan FACE, 18MI213Struck-by (felled tree shifted, farm setting). Factors: Hazard assessment of the felled tree lacking: field soil and forest-edge trees behave differently, worker alone. Page on this site: report 18MI213
Summer 2017. Michigan FACE, 17MI136Struck-by (tree pushed with a tractor loader, farm setting). Factors: Weight and shape of the tree, loader bucket used instead of a brush rake or grapple, undergrowth hindered the move. Page on this site: report 17MI136
July 3, 2017. California FACE, 17CA003Bee stings (hidden hive disturbed from an aerial bucket in a date palm orchard). Facts the report gives: Earlier allergic reaction not known to the employer, no epinephrine auto-injector carried, no section on stings in the injury and illness prevention program. Page on this site: report 17CA003
April 6, 2017. California FACE, 17CA004Struck-by (spar fell onto a bucket truck). Factors: Plan changed without checking in, crew led without felling experience, supervisor not certified, poor phone coverage. Page on this site: report 17CA004
December 4, 2016. California FACE, 16CA007Struck-by (palm fronds, asphyxia). Factors: Fronds cut from below, no aerial lift, trimmers not certified, long rescue time. Page on this site: report 16CA007
May 4, 2016. New York FACE, 16NY024Caught-in (wood chipper). Factors: Untrained first-day worker feeding, unsafe feeding, no PPE requirement, supervision lacking. Page on this site: report 16NY024
April 18, 2016. Kentucky FACE, 16KY013Electrical (limb touched a 34.5 kilovolt line). Factors: No insulating gloves or sleeves, line not insulated, tree close to the line, limb held inside the approach distance. Page on this site: report 16KY013
March 12, 2016. California FACE, 16CA003Electrical (aerial lift raised into high voltage lines, two died). Factors: No daily hazard analysis, utility not told, no written procedures, lift parked under the lines. Page on this site: report 16CA003

Great Britain: HSE case studies

The Health and Safety Executive's tree work page carries five case studies, read on October 8, 2026 on a page whose last change was September 22, 2026. The page gives no date of incident for any of them, so every date says "Not published". Each holds too few facts for a page of its own, so they stay as rows.

Date of incident and reportType of incident, factors the report lists and where to read it
Not published. HSE case study: chainsawsChainsaw cut (kickback assumed). Factors: Pruning a multi-stem willow at height with a saw, no witnesses. Case studies: HSE tree work page
Not published. HSE case study: lone workingFall (slip, trip or collapse). Factors: Forester working alone, no witnesses, found later after a relative raised the alarm. Case studies: HSE tree work page
Not published. HSE case study: working at heightFall (climbing strop broke). Factors: Climbing rope tangled and took the weight of a falling section during felling with a pulling rope. Case studies: HSE tree work page
Not published. HSE case study: vehiclesVehicle (forwarder moved while being restarted). Factors: Worker leaned into the cab from the tracks to start it on a steep slope after a repair. Case studies: HSE tree work page
Not published. HSE case study: overhead power lineElectrical (crane boom touched a line). Factors: Boom not fully stowed while the lorry-mounted crane travelled along a forest track. Case studies: HSE tree work page

How the three sources differ

The United States reports follow one outline: a summary, the employer's safety program, the sequence, contributing factors and numbered recommendations. WorkSafeBC publishes shorter summaries with a cause and contributing factors, and says full reports can be requested in writing. The HSE case studies are short paragraphs with a note on prevention. Counts here are not injury figures: they are only the reports listed on the pages read. For official injury counts see the guide to injury figures by country, and for reporting duties see the rules for reporting injuries.

To correct or remove an entry, write to the address at the foot of this page.

Case reports with their own page

Sources