The job of a tree surgeon, or arborist, can be rewarding and interesting, but it demands training and experience. The risk of serious injury is high because of three particular elements of the job:
- Work at heights, often in an unstable environment
- Use of cutting equipment such as chainsaws, at height
- Falling trees and branches
1400 tree surgeons have been injured in the last 9 years (HSE figures). Not a large number compared with other industry sectors, but significant given the small numbers working in this field.
In one accident reported in the press, a tree surgeon slipped whilst cutting a branch 50 ft up a horse chestnut tree and cut his neck and arm with his chainsaw. He lost six pints of blood before receiving emergency hospital treatment to save his life. Others are not so lucky. On average three tree surgeons are killed every year in work accidents.
Working at height
Work at heights is the major cause of industrial injuries. What makes arboreal work at heights, particularly dangerous is that trees are not entirely predictable structures and of course, no two trees are the same; the jobs of felling, crown lifting or thinning, and reducing or pollarding require particular approaches and proper planning. A dead or diseased tree will respond to cutting differently from a living tree and a large tree will react differently to a small one. A wind-felled tree will act differently from one that has been chopped down. Only through training and experience will the operative properly understand and cope with the risks created by different situations.
Required training to harness & use machinery
The job of roping and harnessing tree surgeons as they go about cutting and dismantling a tree is a skilled one and again needs training and preparation.
Chainsaws and stump grinders are essential to the job of a tree surgeon and must only be used after full training and in conjunction with proper personal protective equipment (PPE).
Duty of care on employers
The law imposes duties on employers to take reasonable steps to ensure that their workers are provided with the necessary PPA and other equipment (eg hard hats, harnesses and ropes, rigging and bracing equipment, boots and ladders). There are also regulations governing work at heights (The 2007 Work at Height Regulations) which require that the work is properly planned and assessed and that workers are properly trained and supervised.
Tree Surgeon And Gardener Accident Claim Case Study
Osbornes acted for a tree surgeon who suffered a brain injury whilst carrying out his job. He was experienced in most aspects of the work but was not familiar with the particular requirements with wind-felled trees, and as he went to cut off the branches of one such tree with a chainsaw he misjudged the elasticity of a branch and as he cut through the wood the branch sprang forward hitting him on the head and rendering him unconscious. The damage caused permanent symptoms and after court proceedings, Osbornes secured an £850,000 gross settlement.
Risks faced by a gardener, landscaper and groundsman
The job of a gardener, landscaper or groundsman is not normally as hazardous as that of a tree surgeon, although they do sometimes need to work at heights and they do need to work with cutting, vibrating tools and other machinery. They certainly carry out a lot of manual handling work with heavy loads and often deal with chemicals and other toxic substances. So they too have the benefit of the regulations designed to protect those who face the risk of particular injury in their line of work: the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, the Workplace Regulations 1992, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 2002.
Contact us today
For a free initial conversation call 020 7485 8811
Email us Send us an email and we’ll get back to you
Client Stories & InsightsVIEW ALL
- 11.4.2023
£250,000 settlement for client injured in forklift truck accident
Sophie Davies, a specialist personal injury lawyer at Osbornes Law, recently represented a client who suffered life-changing injuries following a...
Read more - 30.3.2023
Accident at Work Client Stories
£20,000 for Industrial Injury Claim Enviro-Strip (UK) Ltd have been ordered to pay £20,000 in accident at work compensation after a worker...
Read more - 17.11.2021
£100,000 settlement for tripping at work
Osbornes Law secures £100,000 settlement for Hungarian woman who tripped over a shopping bag at work Siobhan McIvor, a Partner in...
Read more - 17.11.2021
£165,000 settlement for factory accident
Siobhan McIvor, a Partner in the Personal Injury Department of Osbornes Law, has settled a £165,000 accident at work claim, with...
Read more - 31.8.2021
Kitchen Accident Claim
Our client, a hospitality supervisor instructed Osbornes after he slipped and fell on oil and food debris on the floor...
Read more - 18.5.2021
Construction Site Accident at Work
Our client suffered numerous fractures to their left leg requiring surgery following a work accident on a construction site. He...
Read more - 18.5.2021
Compensation Awarded Following Amputation Accident on Construction Site
Our client worked as a carpenter/bricklayer on a building site at a residential property in North London. He was...
Read more - 5.1.2021
Farming accidents high risk for self-employed
Agriculture represents a dangerous industry in the UK, and according to the Health and Safety Executive’s report 2020/2021, farm deaths...
Read more - 15.10.2020
Fatal Accidents In The Workplace
A new article from the BBC takes a looked at fatal accidents at work. The report states that since 1981, there...
Read more - 2.9.2020
Lasting damage to ankle following construction accident settles...
Sam Collard, a Partner in the Osbornes’ catastrophic injury team, recently settled a construction accident claim for a Romanian man...
Read more - 29.6.2020
The Dangers of Working on Farms
According to the Health and Safety Executive, over the last 10 years, almost one person a week has been killed as...
Read more - 19.6.2020
Changes to employer’s liability for work accidents
As it now stands employers are automatically liable for some workplace injuries, (without the Claimant having to prove “fault”) is...
Read more - 13.8.2019
Basement fatality convictions highlight health and safety regulations
Conrad Sidebottom, 46, and Richard Golding, 43, were jailed for their part in causing the death of Anghel Milosavlevici. Osbornes Law partner...
Read more - 13.8.2019
Boatyard worker awarded multi-million pound settlement
A boatyard worker who was injured in a workplace fall has been awarded a compensation settlement worth £7.2 million. Kevin Cleightonhills,...
Read more - 18.7.2019
Workplace fatalities creeping up again!
This month the government released the latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report, ‘Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain in 2019’....
Read more