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General Forestry => General Board => Topic started by: woodmills1 on November 19, 2008, 05:17:08 PM

Title: bad beat
Post by: woodmills1 on November 19, 2008, 05:17:08 PM
One of my tree service guys who I pick up for had a bad experience yesterday............it made the papers and the WMUR NH news


He was in the bucket cutting the top of a large tall pine and it went south.  The top knocked him out then tore the bucket loose from the truck and he fell unconsious(sp) 42 feet to the ground in the bucket.  On impact he was ejected from the bucket.

Results................broken shoulder blade bone, head and leg trauma, and general beat up.......but not dead.


MAN :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Title: Re: bad beat
Post by: SwampDonkey on November 19, 2008, 07:14:16 PM
Ouch, that's gotta hurt for a few days. Not quite the same as the summer fair ride I bet. I hope he recovers well.
Title: Re: bad beat
Post by: woodmills1 on November 19, 2008, 07:35:35 PM
Hurt yes for sure, but the big broken bone is the shoulder scapula and it does not have a way to be set unless broken completly then surgery.  So, a very active guy needs to stay inactive in pain.   I went to the site and figured out it was good he fell in the bucket or he woulda been impaled like a bad B movie.
Title: Re: bad beat
Post by: Sawyerfortyish on November 19, 2008, 08:40:40 PM
Had a accident happen here back a couple weeks ago. This guy was in a bucket truck trimming trees along a driveway. The driveway is on an uphill slope and he had wheel chocks in place. But when he extended the bucket way off to the side of the truck it leaned and jumped over the chocks. I guess the brakes came off at the same time and the truck started rolling backwards with the guy in the bucket fully extended up and out. It rolled about 100yrds crossed the main highway hit the guardrail on the other side broke that away and went down a 20' embankment and fliped over. They flew him out on the medivac chopper. I don't know what the out come was he was alive.
But can you imagine that ride he had wow :o
Title: Re: bad beat
Post by: wi woodcutter on November 19, 2008, 09:19:10 PM
Thats one heck of a ride in a bucket truck!
Title: Re: bad beat
Post by: mike_van on November 20, 2008, 04:36:50 AM
Woodmills, that guy had no harness on?  The ones we had attached to an eye on the boom, so if the bucket snapped off, you didn't go with it. Sounds like he's 'lucky' to still be around. I'm betting OSHA will be paying that outfit a visit.
Title: Re: bad beat
Post by: woodmills1 on November 21, 2008, 08:23:56 PM
No he had no harness, though I think a harness might have killed him in this situation.  I think the tree knocked him out, so he slumped into the bucket, which kept him from tensing up.  The bucket was 2 layers which kept him from being impaled on the ground.  Them on impact he got bounced out of the bucket which cut down on his impact energy.  wasen't his day!! :o