Health & Medicine - Posted by Leslie White-U. Rochester on Thursday, October 18, 2012 10:56 - 2 Comments 
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Hunters risk falls without safety equipment
Of the 54 accidents that the researchers analyzed, most of the accidents could have been prevented if the men had worn a safety harness. When a person falls from a tree stand, the 15-30 foot drop results in a velocity of up to 30 miles per hour. (Credit: iStockphoto)
U. ROCHESTER (US) — Tree stands give hunters a bird’s-eye view of wild game, but some hunters continue to suffer serious injuries after failing to wear a safety harness, say doctors.
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“We are still seeing hunters who have taken unnecessary risks by not wearing the safety belt or harness and endure significant injuries from a fall,” according to Jason Huang, University of Rochester Medical Center neurosurgeon specializing in head and spine injuries.
“Compared to a decade ago, we have made no progress in preventing these neurological injuries, despite safety advances—which is unacceptable.”
Straight from the Source
In a review of 54 hunting accidents or falls that resulted in neurologic injuries, doctors found that two hunters suffered paralysis. The most common reasons for the falls were poor tree-stand construction or maintenance, loss of balance, alcohol use, fatigue, and dizziness.
Most of the accidents were preventable if hunters, who were all men between the ages of 15 and 69, had worn a safety harness, says Huang.
The tree stands are typically attached to trees 15 to 30 feet above ground. A fall from that height allowed hunters to reach a velocity of up to 30 miles per hour as they plummeted. Many times they struck tree branches, causing bone fractures and bruising.
Neurosurgeons studied cases that occurred between 2003 and 2011. It was not an assessment of all hunting accidents, but only falls that resulted in brain or spine injuries, which included one man who was immediately quadriplegic and another who suffered paraplegia.
As reported at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons conference on October 9, half of the hunters suffered cervical spine fractures, requiring surgery or fusions to repair, and 20 percent experienced traumatic brain injuries.
Seven of the men lost consciousness as a result of the fall. In addition, some experienced collapsed lungs, fractured ribs, pelvis, or collar bones and lacerations to the liver, spleen, or kidney. The average time spent in the hospital was six days.
Nationally, experts estimate 10 percent of hunters are injured in tree-stand accidents each year. That does not include the vast number of accidents that go unreported because injuries were not serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.
Source: University of Rochester
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2 Comments
Thomas
Joe Ward
Safety harnesses are for sissies!
I am curious where enough of the hunters are being injured in tree stand accidents every year to make up 10% of hunters nationally. I know dozens of hunters and have never heard of one having a tree stand accident.
The author might have intended to say 10% of hunters that are injured in accidents each year are injured in accidents involving tree stands. That is a far smaller number than “Nationally, experts estimate 10 percent of hunters are injured in tree-stand accidents each year.”