How Do Landscaping and Tree Removal Accidents Happen?

Questions about how groundskeeping accidents happen usually pop up when people discuss do-it-yourself home improvement projects. Who hasn’t heard horror stories about DIY landscaping and tree-removal accidents that result in serious injuries and fatalities? Typically, these tales involve someone getting distracted at the wrong moment, using powerful tools without training, or relying on poorly maintained equipment that fails. Most end with a reminder that professionals are more capable of handling these types of jobs.

Yet, the extensive experience of trained landscapers and tree removal specialists isn’t always enough to prevent the same accidents that happen to DIY enthusiasts. These outdoor workers actually face as much risk as construction site workers. In fact, their risk of amputation, traumatic brain injury, and fatality is higher than for many other outdoor work occupations.

This guide explores the most common causes of these accidents, negligence and liability concerns, and the reasons a groundskeeper or their loved ones should speak with a qualified work injury lawyer like those at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC.

Natural Threats That Injure and Kill Groundskeepers

In almost every accident scenario, a landscaper, tree service worker, or other groundskeeper experiences a serious injury or fatality in high-risk, hazardous work conditions that include dangerous wildlife and other environmental threats, heavy and sharp tools, and high-elevation work areas. Any of these factors alone can cause an accident.

Consider the following scenarios:

– Hidden insects, pets, or wildlife bite or scratch a worker.

– A branch, an entire tree, or other object falls on someone at ground level.

– One or more bolts of lightning or hail strike someone in mild-to-severe storm weather.

– Tree branches shift, or a trunk splits enough, for parts of the tree to fall or fly through the air.

The professional groundskeeper is ultimately unable to stop all of these accidents because the precipitating event is an “act of nature” or a common standard risk with this type of job. Yet professionals often mitigate these risks in various ways.

For example, they can carefully inspect an area for insects, pets, and wildlife before starting their work. They can look for and remove decaying, old, and broken branches and other objects. To prevent harm from weather events, they can check expected conditions daily and reschedule. They can inspect a tree and plan for adverse events that commonly occur when cutting, trimming, chipping, grinding, mulching, and removing trees or stumps.

Professional Groundskeeping Tools and Unprofessional Negligence

Tool failures can occur simultaneously during out-of-the-blue acts of nature and worsen outcomes. How people interact with environments and groundskeeping tools can compound the problem or cause a separate accident.

For example, cutting tools like chippers, mowers, and saws can suddenly break or jam up due to the nature of the work when materials are too thick or wet, especially if the parts have unknown defects or too much wear and tear. When an incident happens, parts can become projectiles, or a groundskeeper might lose control, touch a sharp surface, or fall from a high position. Yet a professional who regularly performs tool and site maintenance and repairs and pursues other safety measures can prevent worksite accidents.

Human negligence often increases landscaping and tree-removal risks. Consider the following ways professional groundskeepers make mistakes while on the job:

– They fail to secure climbing gear, ladders, aerial lifts, large trimmers, and similar elevation tools properly.

– They fail to position heavy, portable machinery on a flat surface or lock it in place on an incline or in another area that has an uneven surface.

– They ignore tool safety and warranty warnings and even modify their equipment in ways not recommended by manufacturers.

– They ignore standard and special manufacturer maintenance recommendations and allow high-risk maintenance issues to persist, such as dull blades, overheating fans and motors, loose hardware, and mineral buildup or rust.

– They stop checking their safety gear to confirm that they’re wearing the right type, that it’s certified to handle the dangers of their job, or that it’s even working properly.

– They stop paying attention to the needs of their bodies and potential dangers in their surroundings while fatigued or rushing to meet one or more deadlines or leave.

These actions can cause various negative outcomes. For example, an improperly secured tool can fall on someone else. Heavy portable machinery can roll over or trap one or more people. Modified tools can burn up or blow apart. When workers ignore maintenance and safety protocols, they can suffer accidental cuts from blades and other sharp parts. When they fail to check their safety gear, it can fail when they need it to protect their head, prevent serious gashes or similar wounds, or stop a fall from an elevated area.

Additionally, professionals often experience distractions, forget safety protocols, or suffer from overheating, which reduces their ability to think logically and slows their reaction time. For example, they might accidentally wear long sleeves near a wood chipper or nod off while using other dangerous equipment. They might miss live overhead or underground wires and suffer electrocution. If they’re in a rush, they might strain or injure themselves by overdoing a task.

How Can a Work Injury Lawyer Help Groundskeepers?

Landscapers, tree removal technicians, and other groundskeepers are usually business owners or work as contractors or employees. If they or someone else, such as a client, vendor, pedestrian, or other bystander, becomes seriously injured as a result of a work site accident, they must file different types of claims:

– An accident or personal insurance claim with their own insurer or a third-party one, depending on the liability scenario

– A workers’ compensation claim through their employer’s insurer when the business owner is liable, if applicable

– A court lawsuit claim against the party or parties responsible when they can’t acquire the level of financial compensation they need and can legally receive under local and state laws

A local personal injury lawyer can help with narrowing down the cause of a groundskeeping accident and the liable party or parties. For example, if a manufacturer sold a defective tree trimmer that caused the accident, they would file one or more claims against the manufacturer. If the employee of the company misused that same equipment at the time of the accident, then the manufacturer, employer and groundskeeper would hold some level of responsibility, as determined by insurance and police investigations and a court.

A victim’s lawyer can help them understand their rights and file on time with the responsible party’s insurer, such as with the insurer of a property owner whose site negligence contributed in some way to the accident. They can also relieve the victim of unnecessary work related to investigating and researching the case, taking witness and expert statements, filing all associated documentation, and fighting for damages.