West Fargo, North Dakota

A tree worker was catapulted out of his platform on Thursday in West Fargo, North Dakota while trying to lift a log.

Mr Tree Canopy’s Altec bucket truck lifting a limb

The man, James Morrissette, 41, of  Mr. Canopy Tree Care, had tied a large tree limb to the bucket truck he was using and – according to the local police – he was attempting to lift it. It seems that he was operating the boom from the bucket at height of around six meters, the rope then broke and the sudden unloading of the boom catapulted Morrissette to the ground – as he was obviously not wearing harness with attached lanyard.

A closer look – it is likely that Morissette was carrying out a similar lift when he was thrown from the bucket?

He was rushed to hospital where his injuries were declared to be “Non life threatening”. This man is very lucky indeed to be alive. Hopefully he will be a little more careful next time and will wear a harness with short lanyard attached to the anchor point when using the bucket truck next time.

The post Tree Man Catapulted appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Columbus, Ohio

A man fell around 18 meters after the aerial lift he was working from was struck by an overturning crane yesterday in Genoa Township, on the north side of Columbus, Ohio..

The man had hooked a massive section of tree trunk to a 23 ton National 800 boom truck, working with a fully extended main boom, and then after it was cut free it proved too heavy and pulled the crane over with its boom striking the boom of the truck mounted lift, causing it to buckle. The tree worker in the platform, Matt Shaffer, then fell to the ground, although the local emergency services have been quoted as saying that he was wearing all the relevant safety gear.

The tree company; Charter Oaks Tree & Landscaping owns the equipment and is very experienced at removing trees with the boom truck. However in this case the load, said to weigh 1.5 tons, proved too much. Company owner Phil Mallory described the incident as “freakish”.

The overturned boom truck

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A man who fell from a tree while removing it from the backyard of home in Rowley, Massachusetts – North West of Boston – on Thursday, June 30, has died.

The man, David Bova, 34, of Meyer Tree Service was around 17 meters up working in conjunction with a crane to remove a tree, He was working in heavy rain when he appears to have fallen to the ground. The photos we have seen indicated that an aerial work platform was use at the time. We also understand that Bova was wearing a harness and a helmet. At this stage this is all we know.

The Essex County District Attorney’s office said that the matter remains under investigation.

The post Tree Worker Fatality appeared first on Crane Accidents.

A truck crane overturned in North Smithfield, near Providence, Rhode Island on Monday, June 27, while lifting trees from the back yard of a home.

One of the crane’s rear outriggers appears to have given way, causing the overturn. As the crane tipped over, one of the front outriggers smashed though the side of the home, entering a room that was occupied at the time. Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.

The crane, a new Altec, was owned and operated by Mikes Professional Tree Company, and had only been delivered a month ago. The company blamed the incident on an equipment fault stating that a “piston on one of the rear outriggers had failed causing it to collapse in on itself, resulting tin the crane overturning” although the crane was quickly recovered – with the help of another crane and winch to pull the front end back down – the boom and outriggers were fully stowed without incident before it drove away under its own power to be repaired.

OSHA is investigating the incident.

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A boom truck owned by a tree care company overturned onto a house in Chattanooga, Tennessee while working to remove a tree from the front yard.

The crane was owned and operated by Big Woody’s Tree Service, thankfully no one was injured in the incident, although some significant damage was done to the roof and front façade of the house. A photo we have received suggests that the rear outriggers were not fully extended, but they may well have retracted as the crane tipped.

The boom truck was later recovered by Doug Yates Towing, using a heavy duty long boomed wrecker.

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Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

A man died yesterday and another is in hospital in a critical condition after the top boom of a bucket truck came down suddenly while trimming trees in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, Yesterday.

The deceased, Michael Shaud, 53, an employee of Shull’s Tree Trimming of Middletown, Pennsylvania, was clearing debris under the boom, when it reportedly came down on top of him.

The man in the bucket was apparently thrown clear and sustained serious injuries, he was airlifted to a hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition.
An investigation into the incident is being carried by the Cumberland County Coroner’s Office, Camp Hill Police and OSHA.

The top boom dropped rapidly, striking a man below and throwing the occupant from the bucket

At this stage it is not possible to say what caused the tubular top boom to drop suddenly, and photos we have received do not help spread any light on the possible cause.

The post Fatal Tree Incident appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A boom truck lifting a tree in East Falls, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, overturned yesterday injuring a man in a bucket truck.

The boom truck, owned by Arader Tree Service, was apparently supporting a large tree limb while the man in the bucket truck was cutting it free, the crane overturned and either it or the tree smashed the bucket from the end of the boom. We understand that the man’s injuries are not life threatening.

An All Terrain crane was called in to recover the stricken boom truck, which was able to retract its boom and appeared to have suffered surprisingly little damage.

he overturned boom truck

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A man was seriously injured yesterday after a lift cylinder on a truck mounted lift failed, dropping the bucket to the ground.

The man, Joe Henry, 41, was working from a 2006 Altec lift in the Springdale area of Pittsburgh when the rod on the main lift cylinder sheared, allowing the pole type top boom to drop while he was using a chainsaw. He suffered four broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken wrist and a head injury above the right eye.

Henry was working for Mike’s Tree Service, trimming some large conifers around an industrial premises and was around 12 meters up when the incident occurred. He was harnessed into the platform at the time. An OSHA inspector has visited the scene and made plans to have the lift cylinder inspected and tested.

This photo clearly shows the damaged lift cylinder

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NORTHAMPTON TWP., Pa.

A man died after falling from a tree-trimming bucket in Bucks County. The man, who has not yet been identified by police was working in Northampton Township, Bucks County on Andrea Drive when he was thrown from the bucket he was working in. Police say the man was in the bucket truck removing trees from a property and at some point a portion of a tree being cut down was tied to the boom of the bucket truck.  As the tree was being moved, the weight of the tree and the position of the truck caused the vehicle to flip onto its side. The man was ejected from the bucket, landed on the ground and the bucket landed on top of him, police said. Initially, 911 dispatchers were told the man was conscious and bleeding from the mouth.  But police say when they arrived, the man was not breathing and CPR was provided by witnesses and members of the Northampton Township Volunteer Fire Company. The man was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne where he was pronounced dead. The man was an employee of Rick’s Tree Service in Ivyland.   The incident is now being investigated by the Northampton Township Police Department and OSHA.

The post Man Killed in Tree Trimming Accident appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Vineland, New Jersey

A man trimming trees from the platform of an aerial lift was badly injured on Friday after he came into contact with overhead power lines, in Vineland, New Jersey.

The man, 78, slumped over the side of the platform after getting too close to the wires, the emergency services were called and after cutting the power used their own lift to reach him and pull him into the rescue platform.

The man was then airlifted to hospital where he is in serious condition. He was said to have been trimming the trees, from the street, as a favor to the owners of the property.

The rescue is almost complete

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West Fargo, North Dakota

A tree worker was catapulted out of his platform on Thursday in West Fargo, North Dakota while trying to lift a log.

Mr Tree Canopy’s Altec bucket truck lifting a limb

The man, James Morrissette, 41, of  Mr. Canopy Tree Care, had tied a large tree limb to the bucket truck he was using and – according to the local police – he was attempting to lift it. It seems that he was operating the boom from the bucket at height of around six meters, the rope then broke and the sudden unloading of the boom catapulted Morrissette to the ground – as he was obviously not wearing harness with attached lanyard.

A closer look – it is likely that Morissette was carrying out a similar lift when he was thrown from the bucket?

He was rushed to hospital where his injuries were declared to be “Non life threatening”. This man is very lucky indeed to be alive. Hopefully he will be a little more careful next time and will wear a harness with short lanyard attached to the anchor point when using the bucket truck next time.

The post Tree Man Catapulted appeared first on Crane Accidents.

Columbus, Ohio

A man fell around 18 meters after the aerial lift he was working from was struck by an overturning crane yesterday in Genoa Township, on the north side of Columbus, Ohio..

The man had hooked a massive section of tree trunk to a 23 ton National 800 boom truck, working with a fully extended main boom, and then after it was cut free it proved too heavy and pulled the crane over with its boom striking the boom of the truck mounted lift, causing it to buckle. The tree worker in the platform, Matt Shaffer, then fell to the ground, although the local emergency services have been quoted as saying that he was wearing all the relevant safety gear.

The tree company; Charter Oaks Tree & Landscaping owns the equipment and is very experienced at removing trees with the boom truck. However in this case the load, said to weigh 1.5 tons, proved too much. Company owner Phil Mallory described the incident as “freakish”.

The overturned boom truck

The post Crane Brings Down Boom Lift appeared first on Crane Accidents.

A man who fell from a tree while removing it from the backyard of home in Rowley, Massachusetts – North West of Boston – on Thursday, June 30, has died.

The man, David Bova, 34, of Meyer Tree Service was around 17 meters up working in conjunction with a crane to remove a tree, He was working in heavy rain when he appears to have fallen to the ground. The photos we have seen indicated that an aerial work platform was use at the time. We also understand that Bova was wearing a harness and a helmet. At this stage this is all we know.

The Essex County District Attorney’s office said that the matter remains under investigation.

The post Tree Worker Fatality appeared first on Crane Accidents.

A truck crane overturned in North Smithfield, near Providence, Rhode Island on Monday, June 27, while lifting trees from the back yard of a home.

One of the crane’s rear outriggers appears to have given way, causing the overturn. As the crane tipped over, one of the front outriggers smashed though the side of the home, entering a room that was occupied at the time. Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.

The crane, a new Altec, was owned and operated by Mikes Professional Tree Company, and had only been delivered a month ago. The company blamed the incident on an equipment fault stating that a “piston on one of the rear outriggers had failed causing it to collapse in on itself, resulting tin the crane overturning” although the crane was quickly recovered – with the help of another crane and winch to pull the front end back down – the boom and outriggers were fully stowed without incident before it drove away under its own power to be repaired.

OSHA is investigating the incident.

The post Tree Takes Out Crane appeared first on Crane Accidents.

A boom truck owned by a tree care company overturned onto a house in Chattanooga, Tennessee while working to remove a tree from the front yard.

The crane was owned and operated by Big Woody’s Tree Service, thankfully no one was injured in the incident, although some significant damage was done to the roof and front façade of the house. A photo we have received suggests that the rear outriggers were not fully extended, but they may well have retracted as the crane tipped.

The boom truck was later recovered by Doug Yates Towing, using a heavy duty long boomed wrecker.

The post Tree Takes Boom Truck in Chatanooga appeared first on Crane Accidents.