As reported by Action News, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that it has assigned an inspector to look into a workplace injury that occurred in St. Johns County involving a chainsaw.
According to a St. Johns County police report, a landscaping worker was injured using a 24-foot ladder while cutting branches off a palm tree. His arm was cut when he experienced kick-back from the chainsaw he was using. When deputies arrived they found the 26-year-old landscaping worker, who was bleeding severely, on the ground. St. Johns County Fire Rescue called a medical helicopter to transport him to UF Health Jacksonville. The report says the worker is an employee of a company called Skyhigh Tree.
Some parts of the police report have been redacted, but it states that according to the owner of the company the employee was working alone while he was dealing with other matters.
According to OSHA, if workplace injuries involve an employee being admitted into the hospital, an amputation, or the loss of eye it has to be reported within 24 hours. Fatalities must be reported within eight hours.
OSHA said Skyhigh Tree has not reported the incident and its inspectors are having a hard time tracking down the owner. Action News however said that they had contacted the person listed on the police report as the owner of the company. While he didn’t want to speak-on-camera, he claims that the injury wasn’t as severe as it’s being made out to be and that the employee only got a few stitches.
