Tree care industry professionals have an essential role, blending specialized skills with physical strength to manage green spaces. This vital work comes with many dangers and overhead hazards, but three risk categories — falls, electrocutions and struck-by events — are the most severe and persistent. For safety managers, an effective program means moving beyond simple compliance toward actively preventing the “Big Three.” 

The Scale of the Safety Problem in Tree Care

In 2022, 222 tree or landscape workers died from workplace injuries. These statistics prompted OSHA to launch a multi-year regional emphasis program (REP) in 2024, covering New Jersey, New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Focusing on the “Big Three” causes of death, the REP will include inspections to assess compliance with standards. But what can safety professionals learn from recent fatal incidents?

Mitigating Fall Hazards at Height

In January 2023, a 59-year-old veteran tree trimmer died after falling 25 feet from a bucket truck. The crew was pruning birches at a residential property. Although the operator wore a fall arrest harness, he lowered the bucket, unclipped to exit and re-entered without reattaching.  When the boom hit a branch and tilted, the bucket jolted, ejecting him. Investigators found his lanyard was not tied off. 

Experienced teams can become complacent about fall prevention. Even routine jobs like tree pruning every three to five years carry hidden risks. Some advanced considerations include:

• Anchor point structural integrity: The load path must be evaluated. Cracked or decaying branches, mis-rated anchors or boom truck supports that shift under load introduce potential failure.
• Rope-on-rope friction and rope-on-hardware wear: Climbers must consider rope management, edge-abrasion potential and proper hardware placement. A routine slash can compromise a rope system and secondary devices may be needed.
• Equipment misuse: Familiarity does not guarantee safety. Repeating routines while skipping standard inspection or not verifying tie-offs in the bucket still drives falls. 

In the construction industry, subcontracted workers are 2.7 times more likely to fall from height, and the risk is likely similar in tree care. Therefore, communication and safety protocols must be implemented for all crew.

Eliminating Electrical Incidents Near Power Lines

In May 2024, a 38-year-old arborist died after a conductive stabilizing line made contact with a residential power line while trimming lower branches of a tall tree. The employer allowed tree work within less than 10 feet of an energized line, using a steel-core stabilizing line without arc-rated PPE. 

Maintaining a 10-foot minimum clearance from power lines is only the baseline OSHA overhead hazards rule. Factors that escalate the electrical incident hazard include:

1. Higher voltage lines: Greater clearance is needed due to increased arc-flash potential and the possibility of electricity jumping from the branch to the tool or rope.
2. Conductive tools: Chainsaws, metal poles, steel cables and wet conditions amplify risk.
3. Incidental energized pathways: Ground, water-soaked wood chips or metallic debris near the drop zone can create alternate conduction paths requiring expanded clearances.

Tree care providers can avoid the catastrophic exposures associated with power line work by treating overhead hazards as specialized, high-risk operations, not simply routine.

The Persistent Threat of Struck-by Incidents

In July 2023, a 51-year-old certified arborist died when a 14-foot-long limb detached from a storm-damaged tree and struck him on the forehead. The crew had been working to remove a damaged bigleaf maple hosting two uprooted firs. While the operator completed a face- and back-cut, the limb dislodged from higher in the canopy. Investigators noted that ground team members were too close, safe positioning had not been enforced and the employer’s accident prevention program was not effectively executed.

Struck-by injuries account for 43% of fatalities in the tree care industry. Most workers are aware of the “drop zone,” but advanced risk recognition should go beyond this basic tree-trimming safety training. Other hazards include:

• Improper rigging: Unexpected detachments can occur due to internal defects, decay or stress.
• Kinetic energy: A limb may fall only a short distance but accelerate rapidly and deliver a high-impact blow.
• Kickback or rebound forces: Stumps, support lines or rigging ropes can snap back or whip when lower rigging fails, hitting ground crew or climbers.

The industry's inherent struck-by risk can be somewhat mitigated by recognizing overhead hazards as dynamic, not static.

Training as the Foundation of Prevention

Research shows that many fatalities in tree care involve young workers, those with less than a year of experience, or those of Hispanic or Latino descent. This suggests that a much stronger emphasis on initial instruction is needed. Beyond tree-trimming safety training, teams must perform daily site surveys to identify new or changed conditions, and every tree must be properly assessed. During felling operations and overhead work, every ground and aerial individual should have a predefined retreat path. 

Safety managers must empower every worker to halt operations if they spot an unrecognized hazard. Crews must be trained to prioritize safety over speed, reinforced by recognition programs, near-miss tracking and visibly supportive leadership. 

A Proactive Stance on Tree Worker Safety

Preventing the “Big Three” in the tree care industry requires more than compliance. It demands a proactive, deeply ingrained safety culture with crew ownership and dynamic hazard recognition. By learning from real-world incidents, documenting protocols and training workers with advanced strategies, every worker can be better protected — on the ground and in the canopy.