RSSTree Trimmer Injured in Orange County
During the morning hours of this past Tuesday, residents along Lake Underhill Road in Orlando were pleased to see workers operating cherry pickers high up in the trees, trimming off the dead branches and ensuring that no power lines were coming in contact with the woody growth spanning the road. Cherry pickers, for those who do not know, are unique vehicles, equipped with four larger wheels. They have limited movement capabilities and are self powered. The key feature of the machine is that it can, through a clever lattice of hydraulics, raise a platform equipped with all the controls upwards of 30 feet straight up in the air. Workers on these platforms can then perform maintenance on things like trees crossing over busy roads.
It was on just such a machine that a 29-year-old employee of the Brightview Landscape Development company was working along Lake Underhill Road on Tuesday. According to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the unnamed worker was high atop the cherry picker at the intersection of Lake Underhill Road and Mark Twain Boulevard when, for reasons that are not currently clear, the vehicle became unstable and tipped over. The initial report did not indicate the height at which the 29-year-old was operating the cherry picker at the time of its collapse. Nor did the report say if the individual was attempting to drive the cherry picker or if the machine toppled as a result of some other destabilizing force.
Emergency crews were quickly dispatched to the scene and transported the injured Brightview Landscape Development employee to Orlando Regional Medical Center. It is believed that at the time of the employee’s admittance their injuries were classified as not life-threatening. However, any situation in which an individual sustains injuries can lead to further medical complications that are not immediately predictable after the initial circumstances. In the case of the collapsing cherry picker, it is highly possible that the injured employee will begin to find the injuries they sustained as a result of the accident manifesting themselves in unexpected ways, ways that could easily disrupt the ability of this individual to work as efficiently and reliably as usual.
The Orlando Police Department is currently conducting an investigation in tandem with OSHA into this incident.
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.
Mr. Cunningham is an excellent and knowledgeable attorney.