A coroner is cautioning against a "do-it-yourself" attitude for risky work at home, following the death of a Southland man in a tree felling accident.
By Katie Todd of RNZ
Edwin Coulter, 54, was struck by a branch at the Invercargill property where his mother-in-law lived in May 2021.
He had been climbing and topping pine trees at the back of the section using a pruning belt and chainsaw.
To make sure the trees fell into an empty paddock, Coulter had been cutting directional notches, then his wife pulled them with a rope attached to their four-wheel-drive.
Associate Coroner Dan Moore said the couple had been unable to find an arborist.
Coulter was struck while he was 8m off the ground, working on the biggest tree on the property.
"Mrs Coulter started driving forward in the vehicle, but she could tell the top was not moving. She put the handbrake on and got out of the car to tell Mr Coulter this. As she did, the treetop fell sideways in the direction of where Mr Coulter was positioned, hitting him in the chest," he said.
The coroner found Coulter lacked enough tree felling experience for the job.
"Mr Coulter was carrying out what was clearly high-risk tree felling without having any form of training or formal experience in this area. This 'do-it-yourself' attitude is not uncommon in New Zealand; as a previous ad campaign has noted, it is practically part of the Kiwi DNA," he said.
"It is also an approach that works perfectly safely in many circumstances. However, it also needs to be tempered with recognising when it is appropriate to engage someone with expertise and training."
Moore said people should employ a qualified arborist for trees that were on a lean, work that involved climbing or trees or that required assisted felling techniques such as pulling with a rope.
Tree felling could pose a high risk of serious injury or death, he said.
SHARE ME