# 79 yr. old homeowner falls from tree



## Koa Man (Feb 17, 2005)

My wife's classmate called me to remove a large breadfruit tree. The tree is about 50 ft. high and the trunk about 3.5 ft. in diameter. Against her warning, (she does not live there) her 79 year old father set up extension ladders tied to the tree to attempt to cut it down himself. He had one 20 ft. ladder set in the tree about 18 ft. above the ground and was on the top of that when he fell. I saw one large limb, butt end about 10" diameter and 15 ft. long on the ground. He was in a coma for over a week and on a ventilator. He woke up a couple of days after the ventilator was turned off, but is still in intensive care. No one saw him fall, but what I think happened after looking at the site, is that the cut branch hinged over and either hit the ladder or him, causing him to fall. He was not wearing any type of safety harness. I give the old guy a lot of credit for attempting something like this, but was rather foolish. The classmate's husband was going to go try finish this job, but she said, "Forget it, I am calling professionals." Smart lady.


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## DDM (Feb 17, 2005)

Abouut a yr ago I saw an Older fellow With a 28' Extension ladder up against a Limb he was attempting to Saw off. Ladder not roped in and no safety. I removed the limb for no Charge i just didnt want to see him get hurt.When i was in Fla for Christmas i saw a guy had an extension ladder On the top of a 2 story roof leaned up against a live oak. Man that takes serious nerve!


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## JonnyHart (Feb 17, 2005)

This is why most companies offer a senior discount. Not that a 20 year old with no experience would have had better luck. Hope he's allright. :angel:


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## Koa Man (Feb 18, 2005)

Here is a picture of the tree the 79 yr. old fell from. Note the ladder at the base of the tree and the extension ladder he somehow managed to lift up in the tree and tie it on. The large branch on the ground has a piece of striped bark at the butt end. This is from the top of the stubbed branch he was working on. I think it swung back into him and knocked him from the ladder. His daughter said he was near the top of the ladder when he fell. Hold your mouse cursor over the picture and left click it to make the picture bigger.


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## blackjack (Feb 18, 2005)

Koa:
Your description and photo was the perfect wake-up call for thinking before attempting any ladder work and heights. Sharing information as you have may prevent more accidents and injury. I hope the gentleman recovers fully to enjoy the remainder of his life.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Feb 18, 2005)

Now see if you can turn it into an article you can publish in the local gardening section.


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## Ny finest (Feb 18, 2005)

those kind of thigs happen all the time here.my sister and girlfriend work in local hospitals so i get to hear about it.the only time it makes the paper is when someone dies.I see it as common sense as whether or not a project is too big for someone but somehow homeowners don't see it that way.Even worse is when companies hire rookies and let them go out unsupervised.It just makes me mad.a company i worked for has had two deaths in the past three years.A guy gotb electrocuted in a bucket his first week on the job and a groundman was high and got crushed by an 900lb red oak log.You gotta pay attention use common sense and hire competent help.Otherwise........


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## jason j ladue (Feb 18, 2005)

pros die and get mangled occasionally. i dont think i know anyone who doesnt have a horror story about somebody getting f'd up working in/on a tree. this guy was just asking for it...inkow we are asked to show compassion on this forum,because of its sensitive nature, but sheesh! wow! stupid beyond...he's lucky to be living. prime candidate for the darwin awards!


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## OutOnaLimb (Feb 19, 2005)

I took down some spindly cotton woods for an old retired guy this week There was one 12 ft spar that he told me he took down his self last year that was on the work order. He told me that he set the ladder up agains the tree, it was only about 30ft tall and about 10 inch diameter, but he told me his arm wore out cutting into it with a bow saw, so he got a cordless drill and a 1/2" auger bit and drilled away untill he was able to push it over. It wasnt a really big tree, just tall and spindly. I told him how lucky he was not to get injured or damage his property, he agreed and said, "Thats why I called in you guys to take the rest of these things down."

Kenn


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## geofore (Feb 19, 2005)

*Back off!*



jason j ladue said:


> pros die and get mangled occasionally. i dont think i know anyone who doesnt have a horror story about somebody getting f'd up working in/on a tree. this guy was just asking for it...inkow we are asked to show compassion on this forum,because of its sensitive nature, but sheesh! wow! stupid beyond...he's lucky to be living. prime candidate for the darwin awards!



Don't just lay on with the "This guy was stupid" attitude. Explain what could have been done to avoid this accident. Your attitude stinks, old people are people too! You add nothing to the thread if you don't take the time to explain what you see that went wrong. 
Had this guy made a cut on the back side of the spar first to prevent the tearout he probably would have been knocked off the ladder from the spar swinging back as the load left the tree but the tearout would have been avoided. His mistake was not tying himself in with a piece of rope. Next mistake was not cutting the backside of the tree first to prevent the tearout. He expected the piece to hinge over and miss him. He did not anticipate the tearout or the sway induced by the load leaving the tree. Being old has nothing to do with it. I've been called to finish trees homeowners have been knocked out of, not all of them are old people. The common things about all of the accidents is none of them were tied in (lack of PPE) all were working off a ladder (not the best place to be) the spar/limb was cut from one side only and hinged over tearing out and hit them or the ladder knocking them down (improper cut) all ended up at the hospital (it would have been cheaper to hire a tree guy). All should have called for a professional first but a family member called after the accident to have the tree work done. Average recovery time for the homeowner 6 months to a year while broken bones heal and physical therapy to get their bodies working again. Biggest problems are they have no PPE on and they don't know how to make the right cuts to avoid the accident. Using a ladder is not the biggest problem. Not knowing what they are doing combined with not tying in is. It's not age or intelligence, it's a lack of knowledge that gets them. Not tying in is #1. Too just say they are stupid doesn't answer what they could have done to avoid the accident. They should have called someone that does treework before they got hurt not after but we all know that didn't happen. Don't just call them stupid and walk away. Tell us what could have been done to avoid the accident.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Feb 19, 2005)

geofore said:


> Don't just lay on with the "This guy was stupid" attitude. Explain what could have been done to avoid this accident. Your attitude stinks, old people are people too!



Thanks Geo!

Everyone,

Once again, this thread is to inform, educate and discuss these problems, not editorialize them. Someone got hurt, let's not be petty, be professional.


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## tinman44 (Feb 19, 2005)

OutOnaLimb said:


> I took down some spindly cotton woods for an old retired guy this week There was one 12 ft spar that he told me he took down his self last year that was on the work order. He told me that he set the ladder up agains the tree, it was only about 30ft tall and about 10 inch diameter, but he told me his arm wore out cutting into it with a bow saw, *so he got a cordless drill and a 1/2" auger bit and drilled away * untill he was able to push it over. It wasnt a really big tree, just tall and spindly. I told him how lucky he was not to get injured or damage his property, he agreed and said, "Thats why I called in you guys to take the rest of these things down."
> 
> Kenn



that deserves an award for thinking outside the box


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## techdave (Feb 19, 2005)

*Hi Tinman, boring not a new idea*

Hi tinman, boring is not a new idea. Boring and wedging is how many of the giant Sequoias and Redwoods were felled when they were first discovered. Of course since the old guy probably did not know about that,...You are right, Kudos for originality!!!!!!


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## jason j ladue (Feb 20, 2005)

geo, i do not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race or any thing else. im not sure what happened,but i accidently zapped my first post. originally there were two. i think it happened by touching the mouse button on my key board. any how... in that first post i included something to the effect that the guy was lucky to be alive and that i was glad he wasnt injured too gravely. i hope you (guys) willl forgive my 5hit attitude. however, i also mentioned in my initial post (what you did not see) that i thought part of the reason this super-79y.o. did it himself was that he was too _cheap _ or proud hire a professional. ultimately, one's own pride can only get in the way of his own progress. and if there's one thing i cant stand, its a cheapskate. for god sake, did you _see _ that picture? what about that set up made sense- other than the fact that someone was liable to get hurt. tree work is very  dangerous and skilled. surely i dont have to point that fact out to anyone here. anybody who forsakes this fact especially an old guy like that is liable to to get what he got, or worse. maybe he was in the physical condition of his life, but that has nothing to do w/ it. he had no business being in that tree. it was a truly unfortunate situation and hopefully he has gained a little more respect for physics and the natural forces that govern our everyday world. i bet thats the _last _ tree he climbs...hopefully.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Feb 20, 2005)

Yes jason, we all know that, the point is that this forum is here for the discussion, not for people to point out the fact that the "vicitm" was not experianced enough to to the job.

There is not point in saying someone was cheap or stupid. Let's just hope that he survives to have learned a lesson. 

How can we use the episode as an annecdote for prople to hire tree companies if tree people come on all crass and arogant when a family looses a member?

Your behavior is why many people do not like coming here, others feel thay can sout off whatever they want and not bother. I heard a story once about a conferance where they used an treeworker accident as an example, people were statinf how stupid the guy was. It turned out there was family in the audiance.

This is not likely to happen in that way, but most people do not like to read useless lambasting of people who got hurt, the read a few too many and they stop comming.

Please use a little sence and discression so we do not have to moderate this forum more then it allready is.

Thankyou- mr moderator


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## cowboy1968 (Feb 20, 2005)

every action has a equil oppsite reaction and kinetic energy can be deadly


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## jason j ladue (Feb 20, 2005)

i dont like to read stories about people who apparently have so little respect for their own god-given life and limb- not to mention their family and loved ones. it upsets me to no end. you think it's o.k. for someone who is clearly incompetent, completely untrained and unaware, to step up and try to take down such a powerful entity as that tree, in that manner? it is pure recklessness. any comentary toward this individual, or this incident, other than repremandation is equal to condoning the (foolish) attempt of such a feat. you may as well set up the ladder for the next guy.that  ticks me off- bad! 
i don't know _what _ motivates anybody else to visit this site, but i come here to learn about treework/proper arboricultural procedure.i am a professional. ive been pruning trees 24 years. i still feel that what ive learned about trees so far is very small in comparison to what remains to be leared. im very humble and coservative in my approach to tree work. ill say it again-i really am sorry this guy was hurt. i hope he has a rapid and complete recovery. my best wishes go out to him and those close to him-and the rest of the world. please believe that the last thing i want is to see anyone get hurt anyhow. i apologize for coming accross w/ such crassness. ive been thinking about this thread all day and since last night. it _really _ _is _ bothersome to me.


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