The Landscaping Safety Podcast

For a lot of green industry professionals, the trailer is part of the job every single day—but that familiarity can make it easy to overlook the risks. In this episode of the Landscaping Safety Podcast, we walk through trailer safety from the start of the workday to the finish: hitching up, safety chains, breakaway systems, tires, load securement, weight distribution, loading equipment, ramps, backing, roadway awareness, and end-of-day inspections. Pasted text

We also talk about building a simple 360-degree walkaround into your routine, why routine tasks can still create serious injuries, and how a few deliberate checks can help catch problems before they turn into incidents. Pasted text

Medic’s Minute: We cover crush injuries, major bleeding, scene safety, and why the goal in any trailer or equipment incident is to avoid creating “Patient Number Two.” Pasted text

A practical, field-focused reminder that trailer safety isn’t one single check—it’s a process that starts before you leave the yard and continues until the trailer is parked at the end of the day. Pasted text

September 2026 brought several serious and fatal incidents involving workers across landscaping, tree care, forestry, and grounds maintenance.

In this monthly safety review, we briefly examine five incidents: a sawyer struck by a falling snag in Oregon, a New York landscaper who died after falling from a work truck, a 19-year-old tree-trimming contractor struck and killed by a vehicle in Georgia, a landscaper electrocuted during tree work on Long Island, and a mower operator who survived after sliding into a pond and becoming trapped beneath his equipment.

For each case, we focus on one practical takeaway and the OSHA safety principle most directly connected to the hazard.

We also close with a short Medic’s Minute: “Don’t Become Patient Number Two,” emphasizing scene safety before attempting a rescue around electricity, traffic, unstable equipment, or falling trees.

These cases are discussed for education, awareness, and remembrance. Several investigations remain ongoing, so the episode does not assign fault or speculate beyond the facts publicly reported.

Sources:
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center — Austin Fire Hit-by-Tree Fatality, Sept. 9, 2026.
Nassau County Police — East Hills Fatal Aided, Sept. 10, 2026.
WSB-TV Atlanta — Tree-Trimming Contractor Struck and Killed, Sept. 14, 2026.
LongIsland.com — Bellmore Landscaper Electrocution, Sept. 24, 2026.
Jacksonville Journal-Courier — Carrollton Mower Rescue, Sept. 28, 2026.

Eye injuries can happen in a split second—and in landscaping, the hazards are everywhere.

In this episode of The Landscaping Safety Podcast, we break down one of the most basic but important safety topics in the green industry: eye and face protection.

We cover flying debris from string trimmers and mowers, dust from blowers, chemical splash hazards, the difference between regular glasses and proper safety eyewear, when goggles or face shields may be needed, and why coworkers and bystanders can be at risk even when they are not operating equipment.

OSHA requires appropriate eye or face protection when workers are exposed to hazards such as flying particles, liquid chemicals, acids, caustic liquids, chemical gases, or vapors. OSHA also requires side protection when flying objects are a hazard.

OSHA’s PPE-selection guidance further identifies safety glasses with side protection, goggles, and face shields for impact hazards; goggles for dusty conditions; and chemical-splash goggles—with additional face protection for severe exposure—when handling splash hazards.

In the Medic’s Minute, we review what to do when something gets into the eye, when flushing may be appropriate, and the warning signs that mean an eye injury needs medical evaluation.

One small rock, one wood chip, or one chemical splash can change everything.

Protect your eyes before the equipment starts.

• OSHA — 29 CFR 1910.133: Eye and Face Protection

• OSHA — Eye and Face Protection Standards

• OSHA — PPE Hazard Assessment and Selection Guidelines

Sources

What started as an ordinary Saturday morning landscaping job ended in tragedy.

On June 6, 2015, a 31-year-old employee of Perry’s Maintenance in western New York was operating a string trimmer while a coworker used a riding lawn mower nearby. The mower struck a rock and launched it from beneath the deck, striking the worker in the back of the head. He suffered severe blunt-force head trauma and died four days later.

But OSHA’s investigation uncovered something even more troubling: the mower’s discharge chute was missing its protective guard, and the bracket used to attach that guard had reportedly been broken since 2014 and had never been repaired or replaced. OSHA cited the employer for a willful workplace-safety violation and initially proposed a $70,000 penalty.

In this Post-Incident Review, we examine how a seemingly insignificant equipment defect can become normalized over time, why mower discharge guards and exclusion zones matter, and how everyday objects hidden in turf can become dangerous projectiles.

Then, in Medic’s Minute, John breaks down blunt-force head trauma and traumatic brain injury—including why someone who is awake and talking immediately after an impact may still require urgent medical evaluation and continued monitoring.

This episode is a reminder that catastrophic accidents don’t always begin with dramatic hazards. Sometimes they begin with a broken bracket, a missing guard…and a rock sitting in the grass.

Sources:
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration — Accident Investigation No. 77493.015.
Landscape Management — “Landscaper’s death ‘easily preventable,’ OSHA says,” Oct. 30, 2015.
Total Landscape Care — “Landscaper fights OSHA fine after worker dies in accident,” Oct. 29, 2015.

Not every landscaping injury happens in a single moment. Some develop one grip, one lift, one pass with the trimmer, and one hour on the mower at a time.

In this episode of The Landscaping Safety Podcast, John takes a deeper look at the occupational science behind repetitive-motion injuries, work-related musculoskeletal disorders, tendon overuse, low-back injuries, and vibration exposure in landscapers and groundskeepers.

We break down how force, repetition, awkward positioning, lifting mechanics, and vibration affect muscles, tendons, nerves, joints, and spinal structures. NIOSH identifies these exposures as important risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, including hand and wrist tendinitis, elbow disorders, shoulder injuries, low-back disorders, and hand-arm vibration syndrome.

We also dig into actual green-industry research. A NIOSH-supported analysis reviewed 18,037 landscaping workers' compensation claims, including 3,311 serious lost-time injuries, and identified overexertion as a significant source of injury in landscaping work.

Then we get technical with hand-arm vibration exposure. A study of U.S. groundskeepers measured vibration from 11 types of landscaping equipment and found that grass trimmers contributed the most to workers' daily vibration exposure. Average eight-hour normalized exposure, or A(8), reached 2.6 m/s², while measured tool vibration reached as high as 8.0 m/s² with chainsaws.

We'll explain what those numbers mean, why vibration frequency and exposure time matter, what Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) can look like, and why numbness, tingling, reduced dexterity, grip changes, and fingers turning white in the cold shouldn't simply be written off as part of the job.

Finally, in the Medic's Minute, we move from prevention to recovery: post-work mobility, stretching, foam rolling and massage, heat versus ice, sleep, load management, and recognizing when normal soreness has crossed the line into an injury that deserves evaluation.

Landscaping is physical work. The goal isn't to remove that physical demand — it's to understand it well enough to make a career in the green industry sustainable.

Safety. Health. Performance. Make it home.

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health — About Ergonomics and Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders.
• NIOSH — Step 1: Identify Risk Factors.
• NIOSH — Workers' Compensation Data Sheds Light on Hazards in Landscaping.
• Chen N., Oh J.M., Yang S. — Evaluation of Hand-Arm Vibration Exposure Among Groundskeepers in the Southeastern United States, Annals of Work Exposures and Health.
• NIOSH — Evaluation of Hand-Arm Vibration Exposure Among Groundskeepers in the Southeastern United States.

Sources

We had another Post-Incident Review prepared for Wednesday, but we’re saving that episode for a later release so we can address a newly reported fatal accident in Augusta, Georgia.

On September 12, 2026, 67-year-old Robert Duncan died after the mower he was operating overturned into the Augusta Canal and trapped him underwater. With the investigation still ongoing, we separate the confirmed facts from what remains unknown.

Then we examine the hazards of mowing near water and embankments, including slope assessment, equipment selection, rollover protection, seat-belt use, exclusion zones, emergency planning, and what OSHA requires when landscapers work around water.

No blame. No speculation. Just respect, education, and lessons learned.

Sources:
WRDW/WAGT accident report
WSB-TV accident report
OSHA landscaping standards
OSHA General Duty Clause
29 CFR 1926.106—Working Over or Near Water

By late summer, the temperatures may finally start easing up—but after months of long days, heat, humidity, physical labor, packed schedules, and constant pressure to keep moving, many green-industry professionals are running on an almost empty tank.

In this episode of The Landscaping Safety Podcast, we talk about the late-season wall—that point in the season where physical fatigue and mental burnout can begin affecting the way we work.

We break down how fatigue can slow reaction time, reduce concentration, impair judgment, and make normally safe workers more likely to rush, overlook hazards, or take shortcuts. We also talk about recognizing changes in yourself and your crew: irritability, forgetfulness, declining motivation, sloppy work, poor decisions, and the dangerous mindset of “let’s just finish one more.”

Then we take the conversation onto the road. After spending an entire day outside, the quiet, air-conditioned drive home can become one of the most dangerous parts of the shift. We discuss drowsy driving, microsleeps, reduced alertness, and knowing when you simply aren't safe to be behind the wheel.

Hard work is part of this industry. Fatigue is too. But there is a difference between working hard and working impaired.

The season isn't over just because summer is ending. Are you still working safely—or are you just still moving?

CDC/NIOSH — Fatigue and Work
Work-related fatigue can be associated with stress, physically and mentally demanding work, extended work hours, and hot environments. NIOSH notes that fatigue can slow reaction time, reduce attention and concentration, limit short-term memory, and impair judgment.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fatigue/about/index.html

World Health Organization — Burn-out an Occupational Phenomenon
WHO describes occupational burnout as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, characterized by exhaustion, increased mental distance or negativity toward work, and reduced professional effectiveness.
https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Drowsy Driving
NHTSA warns that drowsy driving can impair cognition and performance and reports 644 deaths from drowsy-driving-related crashes in 2024.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drowsy-driving

Sources

Two young landscapers—just 22 and 26 years old—went to work on a cold December morning in New Jersey. They never came home.

On December 11, 2018, a gasoline-powered lawn mower was running inside an enclosed landscaping trailer while two AJR Landscaping employees were inside. Both men were overcome by carbon monoxide and ultimately died. OSHA later determined their calculated exposure reached 410 ppm as an eight-hour time-weighted average—8.2 times OSHA's permissible exposure limit.

In this episode of The Landscaping Safety Podcast, we reconstruct what happened that morning using the OSHA investigation and contemporary news reporting, examine how an ordinary piece of landscaping equipment created a deadly atmosphere, and discuss the simple practices that could prevent another tragedy. Local reporting documented the emergency response and indicated that the workers appeared to have been inside the trailer trying to stay warm on a morning when temperatures had fallen to about 28°F.

We also break down the signs and dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, the risks of gasoline-powered equipment in enclosed spaces, and what crews should do when CO exposure is suspected.

This isn't about judging the workers who died. It's about honoring their loss by learning from what happened and carrying those lessons back to our own crews, shops, trailers, and jobsites.

As OSHA Area Director Lisa Levy said following the investigation:

“This tragedy was preventable if the employer had adhered to basic safety and health practices.”

Respect the worker. Honor the loss. Learn the lesson. Carry it forward.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor/OSHA Accident Investigation 111716.015; OSHA Inspection 1365368.015; OSHA carbon-monoxide citation; Pascack Press & Northern Valley Press.

Fall and spring cleanups can put landscapers, groundskeepers, and lawn-care professionals right in the middle of clouds of dust, mold, pollen, soil, decaying plant material, and other airborne debris.

In this episode of The Landscaping Safety Podcast, we take a closer look at what may actually be getting into your lungs during leaf removal, mowing, blowing, mulching, hardscaping, and other common green-industry work.

We’ll discuss respiratory irritation, work-related asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, histoplasmosis, and silica exposure—and why repeated occupational exposure deserves more attention than simply pulling your shirt over your nose and continuing to work. NIOSH notes that workplace exposures including mold and wood dust can cause or worsen asthma, and symptoms may develop after months or even years of repeated exposure.

Then we work our way through respiratory protection—from neck gaiters and basic dust masks to N95s, reusable respirators, P100 filters, chemical cartridges, and higher levels of respiratory protection.

We’ll also discuss Histoplasma, a fungus associated with contaminated soil and large accumulations of bird or bat droppings. NIOSH specifically identifies landscaping, plant-matter disturbance, and other environmental disruption as activities that can create occupational exposure.

For hardscape professionals, we cover respirable crystalline silica and why controlling dust at the saw or tool is an important part of protecting workers—not simply putting on a respirator and working inside the cloud.

And in this week's Medic's Minute, we break down the warning signs of respiratory distress—including tripod positioning, accessory muscle use, difficulty speaking, wheezing, and worsening mental status—and discuss assisting someone with asthma in using their own prescribed rescue inhaler. Current American Heart Association and American Red Cross first-aid guidance supports helping a person with asthma self-administer their prescribed inhaled bronchodilator when needed.

Safety. Health. Performance. Protect your lungs for the career ahead.

Sources:
CDC/NIOSH — Work-Related Asthma: Early Recognition and Prevention
CDC/NIOSH — Histoplasmosis and Work; Histoplasma in the Environment
OSHA — Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard and Exposure-Control Guidance
American Heart Association/American Red Cross — 2024 Guidelines for First Aid

He was kneeling behind a skid steer, straightening landscape fabric. Then the machine reversed.

Two days before Christmas, 68-year-old Jose Vasro was fatally struck at a worksite in Enfield, Connecticut. According to OSHA’s accident summary, the skid steer ran over his foot before he fell farther into its path.

On this episode of the Landscaping Safety Podcast, John Bongiovanni reconstructs the incident using OSHA’s official accident report, inspection and citation records, and reporting from multiple Connecticut news outlets.

We examine what OSHA identified: no established work zone around the skid steer, missing protection or warnings around an excavator’s swing radius, and a failure to conduct required competent-person inspections. We also explain the difference between the original citations and the later settlement.

More importantly, we bring those findings back to your next jobsite. How do you keep ground workers out of equipment blind spots? What should happen before anyone approaches a machine? And why aren’t eye contact, a reflective vest or a backup alarm enough on their own?

In Medic’s Minute, we cover the immediate priorities following a heavy-equipment crush injury: securing the scene, calling for help, controlling severe bleeding and avoiding an uncontrolled rescue attempt.

A blind spot isn’t empty just because the operator can’t see anyone.

This episode provides general safety and first-aid education. Follow current training, company procedures, equipment manuals and emergency medical guidance.

Official OSHA records

• OSHA — Accident Summary No. 172935.015
• OSHA — Inspection No. 1795052.015, F&G Recycling LLC
• OSHA — Citation 01001: Jobsite Inspections
• OSHA — Citation 02001: Struck-By and Crushing Hazards

News coverage of the same incident

• NBC Connecticut — Man Killed After Being Hit by Large Industrial Vehicle in Enfield
• WFSB — 68-Year-Old Dies After Being Struck by a Skid Steer in Enfield
• New Haven Register — Massachusetts Man Dies After Being Hit by Skid Steer at Enfield Farm

Sources and References