# Tree Company Cited in Woodchipper Death



## masiman (May 21, 2010)

http://wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1962498


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## treeclimber101 (May 21, 2010)

masiman said:


> http://wtop.com/?nid=600&sid=1962498



14 yrs old that is rediculous , what a shame that things like this still happen ..


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## mattfr12 (May 22, 2010)

treeclimber101 said:


> 14 yrs old that is rediculous , what a shame that things like this still happen ..


 
Ya i mean comon i wouldnt want my kid anywhere near a wood chipper at 14 thats way to young. he should go to jail. thats freaking rediculus. 

kid should be in school at 14 not ####ing around with a wood chipper.


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## aldo (May 22, 2010)

Just in relation to the age of the child,

Two years ago I had a large concrete slab poured at my house for a shed in the backyard.

A couple of fellows came and did the prep then two extra guys rocked up for the pour and cleanup. One of the two extras was a young boy who was the son of one of the older men there. He was giving his son a particularly hard time.

Later when I paid the business owner I asked about the young worker on site commenting he looked too young for heavy work. The owner said his offsider had caught his son missing school and was showing him how tough life can be without a decent education.

I had as bit of a chuckle.

Certainly not as dangerous as operating a chipper but ...................


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## beowulf343 (May 22, 2010)

First off, it's kind of sad that the life of a fourteen year old is only worth $185,500.

Secondly, by the time my boy is 14, he's going to coming with me on side jobs and doing the work. I grew up operating heavy equipment at a much younger age than that. Do i want my son to start operating as young as me, of course not-when you are small enough that you have to stand up to reach the clutch and brake pedals on a skidder, that is way too young. However, by fourteen i would expect him to know his way around equipment, heck, he's going to be operating a car in another couple years. I'd rather he be working with me around a chipper than sitting around playing a video game. 

But that's just my opinion based on the fact that i was raised in a family where a boy of 14 was doing a man's work.


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## ropensaddle (May 22, 2010)

beowulf343 said:


> First off, it's kind of sad that the life of a fourteen year old is only worth $185,500.
> 
> Secondly, by the time my boy is 14, he's going to coming with me on side jobs and doing the work. I grew up operating heavy equipment at a much younger age than that. Do i want my son to start operating as young as me, of course not-when you are small enough that you have to stand up to reach the clutch and brake pedals on a skidder, that is way too young. However, by fourteen i would expect him to know his way around equipment, heck, he's going to be operating a car in another couple years. I'd rather he be working with me around a chipper than sitting around playing a video game.
> 
> But that's just my opinion based on the fact that i was raised in a family where a boy of 14 was doing a man's work.



+1 I had done more a fourteen than most too. I think its a shame this happened but my grand baby has operated grapple truck at age four lol. We can't be over protecting our kids creates worthless adults imo. Work ethic is something best instilled at a young age how many farm kids are operating tractors by that age?


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## flushcut (May 22, 2010)

Wulf is right I grew up in a small farm community and was exposed to things just as dangerous as a chipper daily at a very young age. I am still here. I was also taught how to use the machinery before I was ever allowed to use it by myself. I knew a few families that have lost someone to a rolled tractor, lost a limb/fingers, suffocated in a silo, killed by livestock, and last of all trees. It is a sad tragic story for sure, but somebody dropped the ball by not teaching the kid proper usage of the machine or was not watching him at all. If it were my boy I would be there watching until he had it down cold. I feel for the parents of the kid a sad sad story.


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## mattfr12 (May 22, 2010)

if a fourteen year old kid is feeding a chipper shouldnt someone atleast be very close by with his had on the reverse bar like most major companies make thier workers do, the two man chipping operation? feeding on on a farm or working on a farm ya i can see that all day. but going out and working for a tree co at 14. thiers way more than a chipper i would be worried about also. they would have to have someone breathing down thier neck.

a stub of wood from 50 feet is enough to do serious damage. thiers usually alot to understand and comprehend. before you should be anywhere near that.


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## ropensaddle (May 22, 2010)

mattfr12 said:


> if a fourteen year old kid is feeding a chipper shouldnt someone atleast be very close by with his had on the reverse bar like most major companies make thier workers do, the two man chipping operation? feeding on on a farm or working on a farm ya i can see that all day. but going out and working for a tree co at 14. thiers way more than a chipper i would be worried about also. they would have to have someone breathing down thier neck.
> 
> a stub of wood from 50 feet is enough to do serious damage. thiers usually alot to understand and comprehend. before you should be anywhere near that.



My grandson will likely help me by that age but yes, I will have special precautions. I will also probably just bring him in to help clean when the trees are on the ground but everything depends on his school grades. I would rather see him accel in school but since he will be part owner of the business, if he likes the work, I will be teaching him early. He already knows he gets the 66 f 250 four wheel drive I promised him that! I would rather him learn in solid iron!


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## mattfr12 (May 22, 2010)

ropensaddle said:


> My grandson will likely help me by that age but yes, I will have special precautions. I will also probably just bring him in to help clean when the trees are on the ground but everything depends on his school grades. I would rather see him accel in school but since he will be part owner of the business, if he likes the work, I will be teaching him early. He already knows he gets the 66 f 250 four wheel drive I promised him that! I would rather him learn in solid iron!



ya thats understandable if you got a hawk eye on them. 

but in the other boys case no one must have even been close to the chipper.


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## treeclimber101 (May 22, 2010)

Thats fine to introduce children at an early age to operation of equipment , thats how working men and women are raised , with that being said operating a chipper alone is quite another , and obviously this young man did not have the experience needed to safely operate that machine or he would still be here...And accidents can be avoided and this is certainly an instance where something should have been done differently..


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## pdqdl (May 22, 2010)

Chippers are generally much safer than lawnmowers, and nobody would say anything if the kid killed himself mowing the neighbors yard.

If you think I'm wrong, take the time to look up how many people are injured and killed by mowers, and then compare to chippers. Granted, there are way more lawn mowers in use than chippers, but there still isn't any comparison.

The story doesn't really give us any of the details, so making a judgment based solely on the age of the victim is flawed. I do know that it is against child labor laws to put a 14 year old to work around dangerous equipment, so appealing the fine will probably be pointless.

If it was working for the family, there may be some exceptions to the child labor laws.


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## ropensaddle (May 22, 2010)

pdqdl said:


> If it was working for the family, there may be some exceptions to the child labor laws.



Ask my dad if he would have cared if legal or not lmfao He always could find something to do no boredom or video games lol.


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## tree md (May 24, 2010)

I got my first real job at 14 (besides cutting neighborhood yards). I worked on a chicken farm for 2 dollars an hour.

That being said, noway I would have a 14 YO on my job. The 18 and 20 YO's are clueless enough as it is.


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## ropensaddle (May 25, 2010)

tree md said:


> I got my first real job at 14 (besides cutting neighborhood yards). I worked on a chicken farm for 2 dollars an hour.
> 
> That being said, noway I would have a 14 YO on my job. The 18 and 20 YO's are clueless enough as it is.



Thats cause they know it all then at least they think so I would not have any 14 yo out of family on my job,but if its my son or grandson, you bet he will learn to work at that age. However operating any equipment will be a supervised privilege after many mundane tasks completed with willingness!


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