The most dangerous professions in North America seem to all preside and thrive in Washington State. The top of the list is fishing and Washington is right behind Alaska as a launching point for some of the most lucrative and dangerous commercial fishing in the world. Number two on that list is logging, one of Washington state’s oldest industries and the source of hundreds of workers compensation claims every year.
The topic of logging brings up an emotional reaction in a large amount of people in the state of Washington. With so many people living here and visiting purely for the nature and the abundance of trees, it’s no wonder. Then there are the communities that were established as logging communities and still rely on the industry as their life-blood.
These two camps often clash, particularly over the well-known topic of the endangered Spotted Owl. The Bush Administration scaled back the original habitat set in the 80’s by 1.6 million acres, opening up a large swath of forest and revitalizing the industry. Environmentalists have said that this will knock back the recovery by 30 years, but the Obama administration has not scaled back the changes and have not given an intention to do so.
Regardless of the politics, one thing that is certain, as more loggers are hired due to the changes, more injuries are bound to happen. One thing that has been curbed in Washington State is the amount of clear-cutting. You see, clear cutting allows a lot more machinery to do the dangerous work.
The stoppage of clear-cutting is great for the ecosystem, water quality due to less soil erosion, and the overall sustainability of the forest, but there is also one big hazard that comes with it, injuries. But it takes boots on the ground to cut trees otherwise since the large machinery can’t fit through the trees. That’s when logging injuries skyrocket.
Types of Logging Jobs
The logging industry employs thousands of people around the country, from the people holding the chain saws to the people pushing the paper the trees become. Certainly some jobs are more hazardous than other. We’re going to focus on the hazardous ones, namely that of a logging crew.
- Fallers - commonly known as “tree fallers,” cut down trees with hand-held power chain saws or mobile felling machines. Usually using gas-powered chain saws.
- Buckers - trim off the tops and branches and buck (cut) the resulting logs into specified lengths.
- Choke Setters - fasten chokers (steel cables or chains) around logs to be skidded (dragged) by tractors or forwarded by the cable-yarding system to the landing or deck area, where the logs are separated by species and type of product, such as pulpwood, saw logs, or veneer logs, and loaded onto trucks.
- Rigging Slingers and Chasers - set up and dismantle the cables and guy wires of the yarding system.
- Logging Equipment Operators - perform a number of duties with wide array of different equipment cutting, moving, and sorting the logs.
- Log graders and Scalers - inspect logs for defects, measure logs to determine their volume, and estimate the marketable content or value of logs or pulpwood.
Workers Compensation and the Logging Industry
Logging takes an annual toll like few other occupations. The biggest hazard, according to Roger Smith of RL Logging in Olympia, WA, comes from logging mountain slopes. About half the time, he’s taking down 60- to 70-year-old trees with trunk diameters of 30 inches or more. If not felled correctly, these can go crashing down slopes, rolling over anyone in their paths.
“A lot of the time, what gets cutters is if they don’t see something,” Smith says. “Like trees growing together or snags.”
The old growth forest canopies have “snags” of big dead branches that break off and can fall erratically when the tree comes down. Loggers call them “widow makers.”
Even after the trees are cut, the job of loading them can be tough.
“Somebody just got killed here [recently],” he says. “He was running a harvester and one of the teeth of the chain broke off and went right through the bulletproof glass window of his cab.”
When a worker is injured or killed on the job, Washington State Labor and Industries (L&I) the state run workers compensation insurance program, opens the workman’s comp claim and investigates the incident at the same time. The benefit for a worker who is injured on the job is approximately 2/3 of their income, paid bi-monthly until they can return to work.
If a worker is permanently disabled by the accident such as paralysis or limb loss they are entitled to a pension depending on their situation at 2/3 of their income adjusted for whether they’re married and have dependant children. There is a retraining fund available in most cases.
If the worker is killed then their spouse receives burial benefits and any money needed to cover medical expenses, then a pension based on the worker’s prior year’s income. These claims also cover children up to a certain point and can be dependant to the family need and situation.
Workers Compensation Attorneys
Forestry and logging jobs are physically demanding. Workers spend all of their time outdoors, sometimes in poor weather and often in isolated areas. Most logging occupations involve lifting, climbing, and other strenuous activities, although machinery has eliminated some of the heavy labor.
Loggers work under unusually hazardous conditions. Falling branches, vines, and rough terrains are constant hazards, as are the dangers associated with tree-felling and log-handling operations. Special care must be taken during strong winds, which can even halt logging operations. Slippery or muddy ground, hidden roots, or vines not only reduce efficiency, but also present a constant danger, especially in the presence of moving vehicles and machinery. Poisonous plants, brambles, insects, snakes, heat, humidity, and extreme cold are everyday occurrences where loggers work.
All of these factors can play, not only into how they get injured, but into an injured logger’s claim and when they can return to work, if at all. The law firm of Phillips Webster has a team of legal professionals dedicated to seeking just compensation for workers injured on the job. Our workers compensation attorneys will look at your case for free and give you options on what you need to do to move forward. Call Phillips Webster now for a free consultation.
Learn More About:
- Washington Workers Compensation
- OSHA Safety Regulations
- Industrial Accidents
