Congressman Falls 25 ft off ladder

[red]

Congressman spent night in ICU after 25 ft fall off ladder 
US Rep Greg Steiner was hospitalized Thursday in a Florida intensive care unit after falling 25 ft off a ladder while cutting tree limbs on his property in Sarasota Wednesday afternoon
Steube's injuries are still under assessment but not life threatening 

[samandothers]

Well execution of the task was lacking.  I kinda appreciate the fact he was doing stuff himself!

[Jeff]

Is he over 50 yrs old?

[Walnut Beast]

He probably was loaded and could have hired it done

[doctorb]

Doctorb's rule....and Jeff is quoting it.....

People over 50 shouldn't climb ladders.  You have no idea how many patients I have treated who have fallen off ladders.  The injuries and results get worse after 50.  I know, I know....there are tons of do it yourselfers on the FF (I am one of them). I got a snootfull from them when this first came up years ago.  And yes, I have broken the rule many times.  But I try not to.  Roof work and gutter cleaning are for the young.  Just my opinion....backed up by a career of putting people back together.

[Walnut Beast]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/florida-rep-greg-steube-hospitalized-falling-ladder

You almost got his name right  44 yrs old

He's also a attorney and his base salary is 174,000 for serving as a politician 

[WV Sawmiller]

Jeff,
 
   I thought that prohibition on ladder use was for Forum members only. :D

[Jeff]

Its for forum members and anyone else I give a hoot about, and sometimes for me. I got nobody else to go up ladders on my behalf, but everytime I do, Bobby is in my head.

[barbender]

Ladders and trimming branches absolutely don't mix, at any age.

[Southside]

You do have to wonder if he fell or swept himself off with the branch. 

[Walnut Beast]

Hopefully the guy heals up ok! It just goes to show it only takes once up on a ladder or not without proper safety precautions or hiring the proper professional to get the job done. 

[Ianab]

You do have to wonder if he fell or swept himself off with the branch.

I'd suspect swept himself off with a branch... Leading to a fall.  If the FailArmy youtube channel is any guide. 
But yeah, ladders and tree trimming are a particularly bad combination, especially 25 ft up. 
I have pruned young plantation pines from a ladder, but that's a specific situation, and you don't go up 25ft.  :

[barbender]

The peak on the one end of our house is 30' up. I do NOT like being up there, or on the back side of the roof that is at a minimum 20' off the ground. I k ow that if I fall from up there, it will be life altering. 

[Stephen1]

I try my hardest not to go up ladders, if I do I always make sure someone is there to either go up or hold the ladder. 
Years ago when I was building the log cabin, I was using a small step ladder and I was coming down, I feel from the second from the bottom step and cracked a rib. Not sure if I was over 50 but I remember it coming up on the FF about the same time about the over 50 and I always tell people we are not allowed up ladders at our age. Everyone laughs at me. I had a friend , well off, CEO of a company fell off his roof and broke his hip, 10 surgeries and 5 years later he passed away on the operating table trying to fix that hip. 

[rusticretreater]

I don't go up a ladder leaning on a tree any more than 10 feet.  The idea is that I can jump off it when I lose my balance.  And I have once. The other part of the equation is the proper technique in cutting branches.  Folks usually think that gravity will just make it fall, but as we know that if it is unbalanced it can twist and fall in crazy ways.  

You tube has some vids of folks who messed up bigly falling off of ladders while working on trees.  And I know a family relation who broke both wrists in a ladder fall while trimming.  I went and spent the money to get the Milwaukee battery powered tree saw.  Not the greatest, but a good bit safer.

[Ianab]

The pine tree trimming is a special case, the ladder is specifically designed to dig in to the dirt, and wrap around the trunk, and you are cutting small branches, usually only 1" or so. Sawing through a larger branch and having it swing down and swipe away your ladder is the classic mistake. If you do that 25ft up, it's going to hurt. 

[NE Woodburner]

For about 25 - 30 years I cleaned my chimney once or twice a year, which involved an extension ladder up to the roof of my 2 story home, then climbing up the asphalt shingle roof to the peak. Never bothered me until one time when I was about 50 or just a bit older. I just had an uneasy feeling being up there and especially coming down the asphalt shingles to get onto the ladder. I was actually shaking a bit until I got on firm ground. It took me off guard as I had never felt the least bit uncomfortable on a ladder before. I decided then and there that I was done cleaning my own chimney or getting up on ladders that high. I paid a chimney service for a few years then had trouble finding a reliable service and purchased a unit that you can clean up the flue from the cleanout using a drill attachment.

I won't say that I have completely followed the no ladder over 50 rule, but I sure think about it a lot more. Biggest issue I have is stubbornness and not wanting to call someone to come help or pay for a service to do something I think am capable of doing.

[red]

Fear is your Friend 

[Patrick NC]

When I was younger I didn't think twice about ladders or heights. Now that I'm not 21 anymore and over 250 pounds I tend to shy away from ladders if I can. Last time I had tree work to do I did it myself,  but I rented a towable man lift. Well worth the rental cost. I'll probably rent it again when I start the roof on my new barn. 

[barbender]

A lift is a game changer. Expensive, but so much cheaper than the associated costs from bouncing off the ground 

[Southside]

A 12' or so fall at 21 broke my L5. I was absolutely in peak condition at the time. 

It's not always the fall, but how the sudden stop at the bottom ends things that counts.

[chet]

Personally myself I would stick with a ladder rather than trusting an aerial lift that I had no clues as to how it was used or abused or maintained.  

[Jeff]

Steve's Drunk and High DUI at Work (Arrested on Scissor Lift) - YouTube

[barbender]

😂😂😂

[Peter Drouin]

 :D :D :D :D :D :D :D