Worker Fatally Struck by Tree, Sawmill Fined $27,500
Four serious violations relate to the fatality, including failing to provide leg protection and enforcing the use of eye protection and trees being felled in a manner that created a hazard for workers.
OSHA has cited Spencerville, Ind.-based Campbell Road Sawmill for nine safety and health violations after a 51-year-old worker died when he was struck on the head by a tree while performing logging operations on Aug. 4 in Archbold, Ohio. Proposed fines total $27,500.
"Campbell Road Sawmill has a responsibility to plan for safe logging operations and protect workers on the jobsite," said Kim Nelson, OSHA's area director in Toledo. "Employers must know the hazards that exist in their industries and follow the relevant OSHA standards. This sad incident shows what happens when they do not."
Four serious violations relate to the fatality, including failing to provide leg protection and enforcing the use of eye protection, trees being felled in a manner that created a hazard for workers, failing to evaluate hazardous conditions, and failing to establish a clear retreat path during logging operations. Three additional violations involved failing to train workers on how to establish and use retreat paths, train workers on how to safely fell trees, and provide CPR and first-aid training.
Two other-than-serious violations were cited for failing to report the fatality to OSHA within eight hours and failing to record the incident on the OSHA 300 log.