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 2011 a total of 50 people have been killed as a result of tree work activities and many more have been injured or have suffered ill health.
More than 2,500 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.
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.
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