Inquest advises new rules on tree felling

A colleague of a Cork County Council employee who died after he was hit by a falling telegraph pole has told an inquest he shouted to him three times to run out of the way, but the deceased did not hear him.

Michael O’Donovan from Killeenleigh, Aghgabullogue suffered fatal injuries after he was hit by the pole which snapped when the telegraph cable was struck by a tree being felled.

The accident happened during a tree clearing operation at Carr’s Hill in Cork on November 23, 2012.

At yesterday’s inquest Pat Murphy, a senior engineer with Cork County Council saidin the aftermath of the death, the council had ensured none of its staff were involved in tree felling. Private contractors now carrying out the work are subject to statutory guidelines used in Britain.

On the day in question, Mr O’Donovan (45) and his county council colleague John Sexton were working to clear any debris which was being created by the felling of trees by a contractor Pat Buttimer.

Mr Buttimer said he had cut a notch in the tree and was then pushing it with the arm of his digger so that it would fall in the right direction. He told the inquest he believed the positioning of Mr O’Donovan at the front of the digger meant he could not be hit by the falling tree.

However, he then realised the tree was starting to twist.

He saw Mr O’Donovan out of the corner of his eye standing outside a fence looking down at the tree stump.

"He was not in a position where he would have been protected by the digger. After the tree fell, I heard John Sexton shout that Michael was on the ground,” Mr Buttimer said.

Mr Sexton said when he realised the tree was starting to twist he shouted at his colleague three times. But the noise of the chainsaw and the digger meant Mr O’Donovan did not hear him.

“The tree fell on the telephone cable and the pole snapped.

"The next thing I saw was that Michael was on the ground and he was bleeding,” said Mr Sexton.

He said the deceased had received a bang to the head from the pole.

Mr O’Donovan died from his injuries at Cork University Hospital having suffered serious brain injuries.

The inquest was told Cork County Council had been fined €48,000 for breaching health and safety regulations.

The jury recorded a verdict of accidental death and recommended statutory guidelines on the felling of trees be introduced similar to those which are in operation in Britain.

Those included an exclusion zone at least twice the length of tree which was being felled and the training of staff to control the level of risk.

Cork City Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane extended her sympathies to Mr O’Donovan’s widow Yvonne and other relatives.