What causes tree work injuries?

Statistics show that the vast majority of fatal and major injuries in tree work are associated with chainsaw operations, being struck by a tree/tree branch or a fall.

Between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2013 a total of 60 people have been killed as a result of tree work activities and many more have been injured or have suffered ill health.

More than 4,000 people have had their lives affected by the work that they do and these are the ones that HSE know about. There are many more incidents that are never reported to us as they should be.

To put these figures into a wider context, tree work has a major injury incidence rate higher than that of the construction industry.

More details on injuries and the main causes

Although chainsaws are involved in the majority of serious injuries a wide range of other equipment and activities cause a significant number of injuries and ill health.

Link URLs in this page

  1. Forestry statisticshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/resources/forestry.htm
  2. Arboriculture statisticshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/resources/arboriculture.htm
  3. Case studies https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/resources/casestudies.htm
  4. Key lessons https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/resources/lessons.htm
  5. INDG 317 - Chainsaws at work https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg317.pdf
  6. Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG)https://www.hse.gov.uk/treework/resources/afag.htm
  7. Report an incidenthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/riddor/index.htm
  8. Agriculture safetyhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/index.htm
  9. Migrant workers micrositehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/migrantworkers/index.htm
  10. Safety bulletinhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/index.htm
  11. Tell us about a health and safety issuehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/tell-us-about-a-health-and-safety-issue.htm

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2025-01-20