John Wheeler Logging, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on May 19, 1997: Employee's ankle fractured by falling log

Employee #1 was a landing man for a small logging contractor that felled and rem oved logs from the forest for processing at sawmills. He was preparing to place two chokers on two logs that the loader operator had hoisted above ground level when one of the logs rolled out of the loader clamps and landed on his left foot . Employee #1 was hospitalized with a fractured left ankle.

Incident on Dec 19, 1996: Employee injured when struck by hung tree

On December 19, 1997, Employee #1, a landing chaser/knot bumper, was working for a small logging contractor. He did not see a leaner (a tree leaning on other tr ees) that was next to the tree he was preparing to fell. He put a face cut in th e tree and was starting on the back cut when he was struck by the leaner as it f ell. Employee #1 sustained fractures to his lower lumbar vertebrae.

Incident on Oct 2, 1996: Employee injured when struck by logging turn

Employee #1 was the third of three chasers on a logging crew engaged in drag lin e yarding with a Barko E550B yarder. The first chaser would pull the line to the second chaser, who would pull it to Employee #1 to connect it to the chokers he had set. As a turn was breaking out, the second chaser saw Employee #1 flying t hrough the air. He did not see what had happened, and Employee #1 had no memory of the accident, nor of the days immediately before or after it. He suffered los s of feeling in his right arm and hand, a broken nose and cheekbone, and torn li gaments in his right shoulder. Apparently, the accident resulted from Employee # 1's failure to get out of the area affected by the turn breaking out.

Incident on Sep 2, 1995: Employee suffers heart attack while operating bulldozer

Employee #1 was operating a bulldozer and doing site preparation for tree planti ng for a company that was removing timber from the forest. He was clearing land on a gentle slope, a good area for operating a bulldozer, when he suddenly reali zed that his bulldozer was on its side. He shut the bulldozer off, removed his s eat belt, and called his partner. On their way into town, he stopped the vehicle and lay down on the ground, complaining of dizziness and chest pain. His partne r called an air ambulance. The doctor thinks Employee #1 had a minor heart attac k on the bulldozer and another while driving into town. He suffered a massive he art attack at the hospital.

Incident on Sep 10, 1994: Employee injured from jumping from out of control skidder

On September 10, 1994, at John Wheeler Logging, Inc., Employee #1, an employee o f the logging company contracted to log on private property, was driving his Cat erpillar 518 rubber-tired skidder up a steep hill to get some logs. He turned si deways and began sliding sideways against a tree. He lost air pressure, the engi ne died, and the skidder began rolling backward down the hill. Employee #1 made a quick decision and jumped from the out of control skidder. After hitting the g round, he noticed a deep laceration to the top (front) of his upper right leg. E mployee #1 does not know what caused the injury; he thought he had cleared the s kidder. Employee #1 underwent surgery and is expected to be hospitalized for fou r days. Employee #1 said that he told the siderod two weeks earlier that the max ey brake would not hold on a hill. A mechanic had looked at the brake and said h e would have to order some parts.