A jury found Maurice Buzzell guilty of negligent homicide and a misdemeanor reckless conduct charge in the death of 22-year-old Jon Paul LaVigueur.

Buzzell owns and operates Buzzell Tree Service.

In August 2007, LaVigueur was struck in the head and torso by parts of an 80-foot pine tree. He was part of a four-person team pulling down the tree. As it started to fall, LaVigueur apparently ran in the same direction it fell.

Former employees testified they were taught by Buzzell not to move out of the way until a tree started to fall.

Prosecutors said Buzzell required employees to stand within the fall zone of trees they were pulling down.

At first the business owner claimed he wasn’t present when the tree was pulled down. Later he admitted he tied ropes together used by the men to bring the tree down.

Buzzell paid $12,500 in OSHA fines.

His sentencing date hasn’t been set.

The construction worker was trapped in a flooded tunnel under a highway.

Four workers were in a 24-inch diameter tunnel being dug for a water main according to Conroe, TX, police.

When a heavy downpour moved through the area, a supervisor told the employees to get out of the tunnel. Three employees were able to escape, one was not.

The employee’s body was found just more than two hours later, 50 feet from the tunnel’s opening.

The deceased employee worked for Boring and Tunneling Co. of America for 9 years.

The company’s president called the incident “a freak flood event.”

OSHA is investigating.

Now, OSHA is investigating.

Another element of this case makes it even more bizarre: The promoter, George Eisenhart, had defended his industry’s safety record in the news media just days before his death.

A statement from the Monster Truck Racing Association says Eisenhart walked in front of a moving vehicle in such a way that the driver didn’t have enough time to react, according to CNN.

Eight days before Eisenhart’s death, a six-year-old boy was killed by flying debris at a monster truck show in Tacoma, WA.

The promoter talked about the safety of monster truck shows in an interview with a Madison TV station just before the event.

The company will pay $500,000 for an incident at its Texarkana, AR, plant in which maintenance employee Jason Kelley died.

Tyson’s plant recycled poultry products into animal feed. Part of the process involves high-pressure steam processors called hydrolyzers.

Decomposition of biological material produces hydrogen sulfide gas, a toxic substance. Employees at the Tyson plants often were exposed to the gas when working on or near the hydrolyzers, which required frequent adjustment and replacement.

At its Texarkana plant, Tyson hadn’t taken measures to protect employees from the gas.

On Oct. 10, 2003, Kelley was overcome with hydrogen sulfide gas while repairing a leak from a hydrolyzer. He died later. Another employee and two emergency responders were hospitalized due to exposure during the rescue attempt.

More information on the settlement agreement between Tyson and the Department of Justice is available here.