Recent HSE prosecution after a worker was struck by a falling Ash tree

HSE have published details of a recent prosecution after a worker was struck by a falling Ash tree, leaving them left with life-changing injuries. They suffered multiple serious injuries leaving them paralysed from the stomach down.

The HSE investigation found a failure to implement a safe working zone of two-tree lengths around the tree as it was being felled, resulting in the worker being crushed after the tree did not fall in the intended direction.

Unintended or unexpected factors could cause a tree to fall in the wrong direction. For this reason the two-tree length rule is a fail-safe control that if anything were to go wrong, nobody should be standing in the fall zone when it does. Chainsaw operators must also make and maintain their escape routes in line with FISA Guide 302.

A collection of guidance for the safe planning and mitigation of diseased Ash felling risks are available on the FISA website, which should be used in conjunction with existing FISA chainsaw guides available here.