Logging Injury

StIhL MaGnUm · Sep 22, 2005

Hello yesterday got a call on my two way that my friend and old employer was injured on the job sometime yesterday morning .

Was doing a selective timber harvest in Central NH and was falling a white pine and in the process of it falling ffrom what I understood was the top brushed off of a large maple and snapped the top out of the pine and ,unfortunatly he was not wearing a hard hat and it came down hitting him in the right side of his head driving him to the ground . Got word last night he is in intensive care unit , head is ok but broke every rib in the right side and punctured his right lung .

So remember everyone wear your protective gear and pay close attention when falling timber , thankfully he's gonna pull through

Rob

Trimmer36092 · Oct 1, 2005

Good to hear he will be ok, could have been alot worse!

Chris

StIhL MaGnUm · Oct 1, 2005

We all hope so , but he is still in ICU and his other lung collapsed the other night , he is in a induced coma and truthfully things are not going good..they are giving him a 25% chance to make it through this..

rmihalek · Oct 1, 2005

Hi Rob,

Sorry to hear the bad news. I have very little experience felling trees and was wondering how far away the broken top can travel when it snaps off. I was under the impression that even seasoned loggers haul a$$ away from the tree when it starts to fall.

Newfie · Oct 1, 2005

Standing at the stump is a very dangerous place to be no matter how seasoned a faller.

A top breaking out is very unpredictable and can often fall back away from the intended direction of fall. If 40 feet of the top breaks out and comes back at you, you better be hauling a$$.

clearance · Oct 4, 2005

Best of luck to your buddy. Selective logging is more dangerous than clearcut logging, not just for the faller but for the yarding guys too. Hangups are far more likely and widowmakers can be made in the standing timber for others to "find" later. Yes, you should always wear a hardhat, its part of reducing all the variables you can, just like laying down all the wood.

Tree Machine · Oct 5, 2005

Tree Machine wishes him well through this time of crisis.

StIhL MaGnUm · Oct 5, 2005

Thanks guys I gotta call his wife tonight and see how he is doing when I get back from work , your definetly right should not have been standing at the stump but none the less it happened , not really sure exactly what happened but thats what the skidder operator told me .