Accidents at work

[Taupotreeman]

No bee in my bonnet Alistair and I don't mean to cause offence, just the way I see it. For the record; I do still sub out to many companies as well as working for council so I do know the H&S side of things. Before going self employed in 2007 I was senior project manager for northern utilities at Treescape so again, had an awful lot of involvement with H&S. even now at council I am expected to sort out most of the H&S myself as I have a better working knowledge of the Arb side of it than does our safety officer. Hope that clarifies it a little.

 

 

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[Andy Collins]

Reading Alis post at the beginning of this thread, I read it in the first person, ie as if it were myself in his boots. I think many of us have been in a similar situation, or been on a site where something similar has occurred. I can think of several instances where I have advised the company boss against his wishes, one resulted in the tree failing whilst he was climbing it, I'd previously talked a novice out of climbing the same tree as it looked unsafe IMO.

But I ask myself, what would I have done in Alis position, hired in for the day with his groundie to get a job done? would I have pulled out, or got it done? Simple, I'd have stayed there and done my job. The accident that occurred was unforeseeable, other factors such as traffic control etc were inadequate but did not contribute to the actual accident in his case. The only thing I would change if I were Ali, is to have personal accident insurance, if he doesn't already have it. This won't protect your business turnover, but will help your domestic situation.

[likeitorlumpit]

You arrive on site. You discuss how you are going to do the job. You start then s**t hits fan and any semblance of order goes out the window- yes we've all been there. People running around trying to get the road cleared before someone in authority comes by and wrists are slapped. It seems to me that was the reason you were ignored though injured. You looked OK though in pain and the boss and your groundie just thought it best to clear the road before dealing with you. Possibly to prevent further incidents with traffic hitting debris. Can't make you feel great but it was mitigating the potential fall out. Not saying I agree but that's often the way. Doesn't excuse lack of TM which had it been there would have allowed you to be dealt with first. Hence the reason we have it.

So- other than the cavalier way in which the job was approached the main issue is that you were hit whilst at work. Was that the fault of the guy on the chain saw or were you badly positioned. That is the crux of this one I believe and that is what you will have to argue in court. I also believe that your bosses lack of regard for H&S will go against him and you will win the case. Your payout will be reduced because you went along with the bad practices.

Let us know will you.

[JonnyVine]

........

Edited April 10, 2013 by John Shutler

[Le Sanglier]

You arrive on site. You discuss how you are going to do the job. You start then s**t hits fan and any semblance of order goes out the window- yes we've all been there. People running around trying to get the road cleared before someone in authority comes by and wrists are slapped. It seems to me that was the reason you were ignored though injured. You looked OK though in pain and the boss and your groundie just thought it best to clear the road before dealing with you. Possibly to prevent further incidents with traffic hitting debris. Can't make you feel great but it was mitigating the potential fall out. Not saying I agree but that's often the way. Doesn't excuse lack of TM which had it been there would have allowed you to be dealt with first. Hence the reason we have it.

So- other than the cavalier way in which the job was approached the main issue is that you were hit whilst at work. Was that the fault of the guy on the chain saw or were you badly positioned. That is the crux of this one I believe and that is what you will have to argue in court. I also believe that your bosses lack of regard for H&S will go against him and you will win the case. Your payout will be reduced because you went along with the bad practices.

Let us know will you.

 

Funny you should say that, reminds me of a job way back when, I hired in lights and their own traffic control guy. It was his first day and when the lights did not sequence and traffic started moving instead of stopping them "manually" he ran towards the box and under a falling tree, all his fault, (and no lasting damage) however from the moment they took him away in the ambulance with a collar round his neck I was frozen, could not make a decision, luckily a bloke was working with me saw what had happened and took over for a few hours.

So it resonates with me that everything can go a bit surreal for a bit.

[Team ANB]

Glad your back at work Alistair. Good, professional, reliable and well respected climbers are hard to come by. There is nothing wrong with dragging brash and lifting logs wether you turnover £120k, 400k or 50k. I believe it's called being committed to your job and haveing a passion for being and doing whatever is needed to get to the next job or complete a task. Your safety is a number 1 priority in any situation and sounds like you made the right call not to climb. The chap you were working for ought to take a look at HIS business management skills and site safety procedures. Is it not an offence to fell a tree over a public highway without closing the road?!

Edited April 13, 2013 by Steve Bullman
Less of the abusive comments please

[easy-lift guy]

Team ANB, I think you need to understand that once the job was taken over by the employer the results were doomed to failure in one way or another. The decision to continue the job knowing the employer was in the wrong for the sake of future work did not pan out either. Accidents do and can occur, however the fact that the groundie did not come to the aid of the sub after the accident is either a case of gross incompetence or complete and utter disregard for helping an injured person. IMHO Two wrongs did not make a right in this instance. It was a bad choice to continue the job once the Sub was no longer in control and only got worse as it proceeded.

easy-lift guy

[JonnyVine]

PROFESIONAL;

Anyone that parks his van across a road with a 60mph speed limit to stop traffic while a lunatic with a chainsaw drops a tree across it is not a profesional. A profesional would have walked away (with a an anual of £120k he hardly needed the coin) as soon as he could see things were not going in a profesional manner, traffic lights, adequate manpower etc, this man was an accessory to the circus act, he had willingly joined in, which brings me to believe this was not a one-off fiasco, it is standard operating procedure for this crowd hence the high anual figures.

 

 

Also most profesionals have public liability, profesional indemnity, personal accident insurance etc.

[Le Sanglier]

:001_tt2:Professional:001_tt2:

[JonnyVine]

:001_tt2:Professional:001_tt2:

 

Only when I'm not felling trees