# how many times have you been hurt?



## treeman82 (Mar 29, 2003)

In leu of all the injuries that have been reported on here lately, I was just wondering how many times people on this site have been injured during the course of their climbing careers. Let's call an injury anything that requires medical attention. So basically, cuts that are fixed with a bandaid or two are not counted, being sore after a long day isn't counted, and neither is poison ivy, or minor scratches.


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## mikecross23 (Apr 3, 2003)

Anyone want to fess up to the more than 10 times and lucky to be alive vote? Just curious. 

-Mike-


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## xander9727 (Apr 10, 2003)

Last Wednesday I was sharpening the teeth on my stump grinder, the tooth caught the wheel and twisted, pulling my thumb into the bench grinder. 6 hours and one plastic surgeon later and I'm as good as new.......sort of.


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## treeman82 (Apr 10, 2003)

I know how you feel, I was grinding lawn mower blades last fall and the wheel caught a little too much of the blade, bringing my thumb in contact with the wheel. I bled pretty nicely. I was lucky though, it just ground away some of the nail, and ripped open some skin, in a few weeks I was good as new.


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## Stumper (Apr 12, 2003)

Based on your criteria I checked in on "once or twice". I sprained my right elbow very seriously (still have some permanent loss of range of motion) when I caught my heel stepping off of a retaining wall with an armload of brush. I also partially dislocated my right shoulder trying to free a hanger while removing an oak several years ago. Yes I should have repositioned BUT the injury ws directly traceable to a previous non work-related injury that I only thought I had recovered from. 

No chainsaw scars...... I am now typing onehanded vwhilepounding myself in the head sinceit is the most readily availabe wood to knock on.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Apr 12, 2003)

These days I hurt when I get up in the morning.


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## lync (Apr 12, 2003)

*chainsaw bite*

Last year while sharpening a chainsaw (no gloves) slipped and ripped the heal of my right palm. Of course it was before I made the first climb of the day. A tube of crazy glue, paper towel and duct tape with a kevlar glove over it kept it together for the day.
A visit to the doctor was a waste, she said there was nothing more she could do that I hadn't already done. That .325 chain takes out a nice 3/16 wide channel of flesh, and thats on a saw thats not running!! First aid kit was helpful in stopping the bleeding and cleaning the wound. Crazy glued the piece that was hanging off back in place, and coated the wound with it.
Took 3 weeks for that stuff to wear away. Always good to have some handy!

Corey


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## treeman82 (Apr 12, 2003)

Corey, I remember reading somewhere that a single cutter tooth will remove as much as 1/4 inch of flesh. In that same document I remember reading that 600 teeth pass a single point on the bar in a second when going at full throttle?


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## TREETX (Apr 14, 2003)

I younger, but with JPS on this one. I have only been injured twice while doing tree work. I hurt almost every morning.

If I was including all of the "Hold my beer, watch this" incidents of my younger years, 10+. Broken jaw (twice), crushed ear canals, broken arm, skin grafts..............


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## John Paul Sanborn (Apr 16, 2003)

Well I have taken around 100 stitches in non work related things....like barfights....


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## Stumper (Apr 17, 2003)

I've never been in a barfight. The secret lies in staying away from bars.


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## Tim Gardner (Apr 17, 2003)

Bar fights. hehe. Yeah baby! Anyone seen some of my teeth lying around?


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## treeman82 (Apr 17, 2003)

John, how the heck are you going to need stitches after a bar fight? You have got a foot on just about everyone else in the room. With that kind of height advantage you should be able to just drop your fist on people's heads like a big club.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Apr 17, 2003)

Well one of the times I had two guys in half-nelsons, dragging them back, and slipped. Sat down on the heel of my boot and next thing I know I got clocked with a Michalob bottle, the second hit got my attention, and I got a third before I could stad up. With blood running down my bald head, the crowd all bacled up and I copuls not see one guy with a bottle in his hand.


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## mikecross23 (Apr 18, 2003)

Sounds like an interesting past time... kind of reminds me of when they run bulls through the streets of Spain.


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## ArtB (May 17, 2003)

Only posted here once before (157 ft cottonwood) but this one also caught my eye. Voted in the 10+ category. Grandpa died in a ladder fall in 1926 - every male relative on that side has had numerous survivals. 

Some of survivals, worst first:

1. Took Fops off dozer to replace clutch, FOPs not yet replaced. Big snowstorm 1974, 6 big alders leaning towards own house we'd just built and not cleared around yet, alders about to break, so pulled over with cable and dozer. First 5 went as planned, too lazy at that moment to drag over a lnger cable. 5th snapped, heard it snap, turned to see so I could jump/dodge, slapped me in side of head an' jammed head into hydraulic piping - trunk hit dozer fender is what saved me that time, still spent 2 week in hospital with 37 skull fractures. Wife says its good that's where I was hit, nothing else as dense. 

2. Remember the old chainsaw bars with the EXTERNAL roller? (Late 60's early 70's)
Anyway, was making a horizontal overhead cut when the roller broke due to fatigue. 157 stitches in left hand, broken safety glasses and gash over right eye. Sent bar into mfg with history of usage and personal estimate of fatigue life of that design- was gratified it recalled and have never seen it on the market since. 

3, Earliest serious was circa 1955 as teen, doing freehand carving on a table saw no less, 3/4 inch cut out of end of thumb - gave up on that type carving. 

4. This one trivial, but worth mentioning due to alcohol factor. Circa 1970.
3&5 YO kids home after Christmas eve church, wife still at church playing organ for later service. Gonna start fire and have a couple of screwdrivers. Nice blaze going, feeling mellow, decieded to chop one log with DB axe ('civie' clothes only on) before wife got home - anyway, blade skipped on knot -1" cut above ankle. Got out the needle and thread an' a pair of needlenose and stitch'er up with kids interested in the whole proceedure. Told DW the next day after we'd had a nice Christmas eve. 

Skip to April 2001. 

10: Harness on, rope tied thru fork. 2nd to top rung on 26 ft extension ladder taking Bigleaf Maple branch off. Easy cut, clean fall, but branch bounced higher than ever have seen one bounce and butt hit ladder just so that I was literally left hanging. Was able to get to trunk and slide down. 

Anyway, personal history is why I looked up this site before I do the most lopsided tree I've ever seen, and need to fell 90 deg to lean (the 157 ft cottonwood post with pix) as DW is apprehensive of that one - PS: The cottonwood is on the lot where I let local arborists/trimmers dump chips, so I have gotten professional advise on felling it from about 20 different sources now. Will likely use 3/4 cable and dozer, side cable to 4 ft old fir stump, plus dutchman cut on felling to twist it as it falls.


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## Tom Dunlap (May 17, 2003)

Do heart breaks count? I've had my share 

How about a broken will? I've given up on things in the past.

I don't count something an injury unless it requires a hospital stay of more than a full day off from work. I've been doing tree work for over thirty years but I've lost track of the total in my career.

Tom


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## Guy Meilleur (May 18, 2003)

Like Tom I'm in the over-30 yr, forgot em all category but I had to check "over 10". Some of the low points:

2 dislocated shoulders from separate swings into trunk; didn't learn about scarestrap use the first time.

7 stitches on scalp from falling polesaw, now wear hat.

Broken arm falling off ladder when shortening pear tree.

Fractured skull smashed wrists etc. from 35' fall onto driveway when split ash came apart in storm. Was tied into wrong half of it.

Lime disease from tick bites twice; months down each time, hairy-cell leukemia was a result; 3 other hcl ( a very rare form of blood cancer) patients had Lime disease too so that's my theory.

Busted ribs and ruptured spleen from being whacked by trunk under tension and cut loose most stupidly. Helper didn't show so worked alone, got impatient. BP was 50 when I got to hospital, 3 weeks in intensive care. 

This last was in 2001 but now since blood is fairly healthy and I'm older and wiser I don't think I'll be that stupid anymore, hahahaha. I plan on climbing another 37 years and not adding to this list, enough already.


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 19, 2003)

So Guy, what was that one Perry Crawford was telling me about back in your days of more hair, and I was still a pup playing with popguns and pogo-ponies?


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## rahtreelimbs (May 19, 2003)

It seems that the climbers that I know get cut more with a hand saw than with a chainsaw. Handsaws will getcha good!!!


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## Guy Meilleur (May 19, 2003)

That would be the swan dive onto the driveway. Happened at an old sausage-maker's mansion on Lake Drive, turned convent. A nun from there visited me in the hospital and saw an xray of my navicular bone, the biggest wristbone, broken cleanly in quarters and appearing as the sign of the cross to her eyes.

She told me it signified that I was bound for acts profound, but I was too dazed to get into it at the time. Moved to Key West FL to recuperate and stayed7 years off and on. I had to tell the state of WI to stop sending WC$. When MM talks about the high cost of doing business in WI, I understand. They also paid for grad school at UW-Mad as "voc-rehab".

Sheesh, this memory lane I didn't need to go down. I shoulda pulled a Dunlap/John Dean--sorry jps I forgot you're too young to remember Watergate--and said "I don't recall."


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## Guy Meilleur (May 19, 2003)

Rich reminded me one good thing I can say about my care-less career--chainsaw blade never touched flesh (though handsaw still does at times--knees especially, on the followthrough)


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 20, 2003)

I remember Watergate. It preempted a number of saturdays worth of cartoons! Man was I mad !.


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 20, 2003)

> _Originally posted by rich hoffman _
> *It seems that the climbers that I know get cut more with a hand saw than with a chainsaw. Handsaws will getcha good!!! *



I've whacked my knucles hard enough, a few times, That the tendons were swolen for months.


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## Ryan Willock (May 20, 2003)

Rich, funny you should mention getting cut with the handsaw.... I was deadwooding a pecan tree last week and niped my left index finger good!! looked like a spiral cut ham!! Man that silk's sharp!! JPS, do you remember back in January when you stoped by the jobsite I was on out in the county??? well the idoit I was subbing to almost dropped a tree on me when I was pushing slash facing away from him. No one was suposed to be felling ANYTHING ANYWHERE at the moment, just bucking logs. Well evedently xxx decided that was a good time to fell a 20'' oak in my direction!!! I saw it just in time to get smacked in the face with thumb sized branches, glad I was wearing my helment!! So far other than the minor cuts and scratches I've been VERY fortuneate.:angel:


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 21, 2003)

He didn't even yell headache!?

Sorry could not resist it.


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## Ryan Willock (May 21, 2003)

JPS, he didn't even know what a figure eight was!!!!! how the He11 was he going to know to yell head ach??? that was the last first and LAST job that I ever did with xxx Tree Service!!! and on top of that (lets talk sever wallet injury for a second here) he didn't even pay me the full amount according to our contract, he only paid me $580 for three weeks of work with my tractor!!! it was suposed to be 25% of the gross from the job which would have been $3,000!!!!


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 21, 2003)

Ouch, did you have a contract? I would take a lein out on his property.


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## Ryan Willock (May 21, 2003)

I had a contract (by the way $3,000 for three weeks work is DIRT cheap!!! the job was only suposed to take a week!!) but trying to enforce it on him was like trying to nail jello to the wall.... POINTLESS!!!! The only thing he owned free and clear was his 1975 ford F-600 log truck which barely ran and had ALL kinds of problems, like no brakes from time to time!!! Found out he didn't have the $$$ to pay me because of a coke habit, his employees didn't fare any better than me on that deal.  Back in march he managed to drop the top of a large oak right down the middle of a horse barn in Hillsborgh!!!


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## Reed (May 22, 2003)

Sounds like perhaps we should be addressing this person - for a moticum of accountability - then spread the word about him - for his own sake and especially other's. 

It's difficult to judge people because we aren't them and don't factor-in whatever it is that makes people do what people do, but cocaine and tree work don't mix - if that's his problem. 

I can't accept needless deaths or injuries, and this guy sounds like he's a weak link about to give way.


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## John Paul Sanborn (May 22, 2003)

Thanks for reminding me Reed


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## Mattman (Jun 4, 2003)

This topic reminded me of the Darwin Awards. Please be a little more careful (myself included!).


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## treeman82 (Aug 21, 2003)

Figured I would bump this up to the top seeing as how Dr. Ball published his article in this month's TCI.


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## NeTree (Aug 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Mattman _
> *This topic reminded me of the Darwin Awards. Please be a little more careful (myself included!). *




Words to live by


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## duff (Aug 22, 2003)

On the handsaws...Silky never bites, but the ARS folding handsaw, for all I love that little saw...I beleive the branding is an acronym for Always Rends Skin.

One other ARS incident; this one with the telescopic pruners(not cut-and-hold head). 

Their fundamental flaw is no hangy thing, so I craft a heavy-gauge wire hook-like organ for them around the shaft down near the trigger...works great...BUT

My first year as an arborist...up on a ladder, pulling Cup of Gold vine from a Coast Live Oak...one pesky section hung on good...so I McGyvered it with the hangy hook, still a wrestle...finally broke loose, per my determination, freeing the business end of the pruners to bury itself in my upper thigh...I never got down a ladder so fast, and I never have used those hooks for anything but hangy-duty since. 8 stiches & I have a lovely centipede-looking scar where I pulled out the blade.

One last...never approach an agave americanum quickly, variegation notwithstanding.


:blush: :blush:


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## TimberMcPherson (Aug 31, 2003)

*Injured hand*

PS Typing with one hand stinks!!!!

I have strained a couple of tendons in my left hand, dont know exactly how but was doing some climbing for a mate ricky, hand started off hurting a bit climbing, then starting the 394, another hour and I couldnt start my 020. Think im off work for a while curse it!


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## MasterBlaster (Aug 31, 2003)

*Re: Injured hand*



> _Originally posted by TimberMcPherson _
> *PS Typing with one hand stinks!!!!
> 
> I have strained a couple of tendons in my left hand, dont know exactly how but was doing some climbing for a mate ricky, hand started off hurting a bit climbing, then starting the 394, another hour and I couldnt start my 020. Think im off work for a while curse it! *




Try wrapping your wrist real tight, or even a couple of inches below your elbow. 
Sometimes that helps.....


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 31, 2003)

ice it regularly


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## xander9727 (Sep 1, 2003)

Contrast baths have always helped me. Put the affected area in a 70/30 ice/water mix for two minutes and then in 105 degree (hot tub) water for one minute, repeat.


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## DadF (Sep 2, 2003)

I hope that Timbermcpherson realizes that the 105 is in Fahrenheit and not Celsius


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## rdooms (Sep 5, 2003)

*been hurt once in the tree*

Been on the job 2 months was 70 ft up a poplar taking out the top and when the top went i let off the trigger and put my l arm with the saw around the tree then when the tree swung back to the r i put the r hand arond the tree also hitting the top edge of the chain and giving myself a good thumb cut and a nice gash across the back of my hand . Only 10 stitches total . Rookie mistake You live and learn , Hopefully. Ive learned from that one. been using chain saws since i was 12 (now 34 ) Never been cut before . Time to get back to the tree Rdooms


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 6, 2003)

So that's what a chainbreak is for! 

Or was this chut gouging yourself on the stopped chain?


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## Guy Meilleur (Sep 6, 2003)

*Re: been hurt once in the tree*



> _Originally posted by rdooms _
> *Only 10 stitches total . Rookie mistake You live and learn , Hopefully. Ive learned from that one.  *


And the lesson was...? Maybe to cut off the chainsaw, get it out of the way, and finish with a handsaw?


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## rdooms (Sep 6, 2003)

*hurt once in the tree*

yep chainbreaks work better then my hands and finishing with my hand saw is good to. believe me i heard them both and that sure seems to be the better way to go. rdooms


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## murphy4trees (Sep 6, 2003)

Not sure I have the correct picture of exactly what happenned. Were you standing in spikes and double tied in? Were you using a saw lanyard? Sounds like you were using your hands to stabalize yourself as the spar shook.... That is customarily done by pushing yourself away from the spar with both hands in front of your chest... pushing your body back away from the tree and against your lanyard.
Finish cut... engage chainbrake... shut saw off... drop saw into lanyard... brace yourself against tree... Always think this procedure through in your head before you do it... That's not the kind of thing to make up as you go.
And using a plunge cut with a back release can make things extra safe by reducing the possibility of barberchairs and allowing climber to finish cut with handsaw... its best to become good at plunging with a back release on the ground before taking it aloft....
You've only given a rough sketch of what happenned... there are probably other factors which put you in a bad position... maybe you could have set the pull line higher, or cut a betteer notch, or been tied in to an adjascent tree etc... Usually it takes a couple of mistakes made together to cause an accident...


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## sawfan (Sep 12, 2003)

*hopefully never*



> It's difficult to judge people because we aren't them and don't factor-in whatever it is that makes people do what people do, but cocaine and tree work don't mix - if that's his problem.



*Personally I dont think cocaine and anything mix!* 

Now as to my own accidents, none yet thank god! I may only cut fire wood but I do it at least once a week(my sauna eats wood) Luckily I learned from my dad.
Before I was even born a chainsaw kicked back on him while he was logging. Instead of him letting it hit his face he batted it away with the back of his left hand. 60 some stiches. Less than a week later he married my mom. All of his wedding pictures he had to hide his left arm, and to this day his left hand still shows the scar around 10 inches long running from his Knuckles up his arm. Ever since i picked up a chainsaw(his 045 Stihl around 16 y.o.) before I even start it up I think of his wedding pictures and the pain he went through. So I guess I woud have to thank my old man for never being injured in the woods. Thanks Dad!

P.S. I still have the old saw that cut him. yep the old 045 stihl I keep that saw around as a reminder!


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## TheTreeSpyder (Sep 14, 2003)

*Re: hopefully never*



> _Originally posted by sawfan _
> *Personally I dont think cocaine and anything mix!*







Now wait a minute, that's not true......











Dummy Dust & Death is a mix.....


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## Ax-man (Sep 14, 2003)

*Injuries*

I responded to the poll. I only put down the times I needed to go to the hospital for stiches that was on job related injuries.

The poll doesn't have enough space for mishaps from hand saws, filing chain saws, burns from welding, cut fingers and hands and knuckle injuries sustained from equipment maintence.

If got a couple good injuries from chain saws that I 've been meaning to put up in the appropriate forum, just no time for typing , in the hopes that some one won't repeat my mistake.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 14, 2003)

*Re: Injuries*



> _Originally posted by Ax-man _
> *
> The poll doesn't have enough space for mishaps from hand saws, filing chain saws, burns from welding, cut fingers and hands and knuckle injuries sustained from equipment maintence.
> *



If you ain't beelin, you ain't workin?


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