17-year-old worker was pulled into woodchipper before he died, feds say. Company cited

Kaitlyn Alanis
·2 min read
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A tree service company allowed three minors to use a woodchipper — forbidden under federal child labor laws — before one of them was killed using the machine, according to federal authorities.

The 17-year-old worker was feeding “entangled material” into the woodchipper on Aug. 9 at a work site in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, when he was “partially pulled” in, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a Feb. 13 news release. He later died of his injuries.

His death prompted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to open an investigation into the teen’s employer, a Lehigh Valley tree service company owned by Adam Atiyeh. The company goes by several names, including Adam’s Tree Service, officials said.

Atiyeh did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Feb. 13.

Investigators found that Adam’s Tree Service failed to:

  • Provide personal protective equipment and make sure employees used safety shoes, glasses, gloves and hard hats

  • Train workers on how to safely use the woodchipper

  • Have first aid-trained workers on site

  • Keep portable fire extinguishers at the work site

He and his company received 10 serious safety violation citations and face $136,613 in penalties.

These safety violations were in addition to violating child labor laws, authorities said. The Wage and Hour Division is investigating those allegations.

“The dangers of tree-trimming and operating a woodchipper are obvious and widely known, and yet this employer exposed a teenager to deadly risks. Now his family, friends and co-workers are left to mourn,” OSHA Area Office Director Jean Kulp said in the release. “The willingness of this company and its owner Adam Atiyeh to expose workers without proper safety equipment and training to such hazardous work is hard to understand. Employing minors to do this work is unconscionable.”

Atiyeh has 15 business days from when he received notice of the citations to either comply, request a meeting with OSHA, or contest the findings.

Schnecksville is about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

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