Finding into death of ED
Deceased
ED
Demographics
59y, male
Date of death
2019-07-10
Finding date
2021-06-29
Cause of death
Head injuries sustained when struck by a falling tree
AI-generated summary
A 59-year-old man died from severe head injuries sustained when struck by a falling tree during tree felling operations on a rural property. He was working with his employer who used a tractor to push over dead trees while the deceased was positioned nearby with a chainsaw. No formal risk assessment was undertaken and no safety plan was formulated prior to the work. The coroner found the failure to jointly undertake risk assessment and formulate a safety plan constituted a breach of recognised duty and a contributing factor to death. The work was performed based on previous successful experience without incident, leading to complacency. Workplace safety protocols including proper hazard identification, communication of worker positioning, and formal safety planning should have been implemented before commencing high-risk tree felling operations.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Failure to undertake formal risk assessment
- Failure to formulate a safety plan
- Lack of communication regarding worker positioning
- Complacency from previous successful tree felling operations
- Inadequate hazard identification
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