climber down, orchard ladder claims another...

familytree

familytree

Location
Haddonfield, nj
this is stupid, actually it really really sucks, i was prunning a bradford pear today with an orchard ladder, i already climbed it and took the top out and i was dressing up the sides when the sod gave on the left side of the ladder and it started to tip, i tried to run down but it was way too late, i jumped the last 10 foot but my ankle caught the last step, i swore i broke it, i crawled around like a baby screaming "i cant be hurt, i cant afford it" went to the er and i was luck, no break but bad sprain, out at least a couple of days, just be careful out there guys, you never know what might give from under ya, ill see if i can get a pic, its nasty, softball anyone?

marc powell
 
I had a 14' orchard ladder collapse on me when its pop rivets broke. I was tangled up in that thing. It hurt quite a bit but no long term injuries. The guys on my crew put some nuts and bolt on the thing and kept using it. I did not.
 
Marc: good to hear you are not seriously hurt. Thanks for the reminder that ladders are dangerous.--Love 'em or hate 'em, they are a necessary evil for this trade.
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Ankle injuries suck. Make sure you take care of that sprain. Bad ankle sprains can actually take longer to heal than simple breaks, especially if the Achilles tendon has been injured. I hope you heal up quickly!
 
Oooo...sorry to hear that. Follow the doc's advice and stay off it until you're supposed too. I learned the hard way on a sprain and got walking too soon...took longer to mend.

How could you have avoided the accident? Any suggestions for safe ladder use? This is an issue that will be addressed during this revision of the ANSI Z133.
 
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Oooo...sorry to hear that. Follow the doc's advice and stay off it until you're supposed too. I learned the hard way on a sprain and got walking too soon...took longer to mend.

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I second that. Sprained mine when I slid a bike under a car. Made it worse by laying off the crutches too early climbing stairs... it didn't matter as much cuz I couldn't wear shoes for the burns anyway.

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How could you have avoided the accident? Any suggestions for safe ladder use? This is an issue that will be addressed during this revision of the ANSI Z133.

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I'm thinking ladders/light mobile scaffolding is ripe for some design/materials advances... we have the technology.
 
hey tom, honestly, some sort of block to place under the feet of the ladder to help spread the overal weight distribution and to help give it a little more stabability, had the ladder foot not sunk into the ground my balance would not have been compromised, looks like i have some time to try to invent something cause i was going to try and rush it so i could get to work tomorrow but i cant put presure on it at all, docs said 6 days, hopefully these kind of injuries heal in leaps and bounds cause im having a hard time seeing that timeline, any ideas on how to make money with only one good leg, i know jerry bereneck and masterblaster are out there somewhere, at least give me some good shows to watch but dont forget im a bit young for matlock (hope i got both of your sense of humors correct, if not, my apologies)
 
Think of six days as a minimum. Severe sprains aren't breaks but they are serious tissue injuries. Connective muscle tissue heals very slowly... very. Re-injury is likely if you get back on it too fast.

I've never broken a big bone but I've trashed a lot of tendons and ligaments... it's always the same, your body will force you to let it heal if you don't do it by choice. I had a shoulder that took over a year to get back to full range and strength because I kept going back at it too soon... I was 24.

Anti-inflammitory drugs like ibuprofen will keep the damage down as you start to use the ankle again. The swelling and inflammation causes more tissue damage so you do well to keep them in check.

It really sucks, I know you are ready to be done with this already, but if you want full strength back as soon as possible, you have to let it heal.

Get well and go hard.
 
thanks blinky, im doing everything i can, ice 20 ice off for 20, ibuprofin and leg elevated, im just gettin stressed out, i only have a couple days vacation to use and it isnt 6 of em, luckily the bills are paid for the next month and hopefuly ill be back at it way before then.

i built this awesome set up, since i cant walk with my one leg and im on crutches, ive noticed that its almost impossible to carry anything with both hands holding me up so i grabbed a bit of extra line and a cardboard box and i now am pulling a trailer, now if i could just figure out the reverse beeping signal.
 
At some point you might want to try the hot/cold soak. It makes my foot feel a lot better.
 
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this is stupid, actually it really really sucks, i was prunning a bradford pear today with an orchard ladder, i already climbed it and took the top out and i was dressing up the sides when the sod gave on the left side of the ladder and it started to tip, i tried to run down but it was way too late, i jumped yada, yada yada!

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I hope you learned your lesson about topping trees!

Sorry to hear about your ankle and I wish you the best. I can't help but wonder if that pear didn't just pull a root out from under your ladder.
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hey mb, yeah, i heard that, i took the high road and went with icy hot, just kidding of course, but im stickin with ice til the swellin goes down, right now its swollen all the way to my shin, im tellin ya, when i do something i do it right, just wish i had a sit at home hobbie to tinker with but folks in this line of work arent exactly into stamp collecting and sewing (except you splicing folks, thats not exactly a doiley your workin on)

how you holdin up mb, you still grounded?
 
its an ornamental and its supposed to be topped especaially when its been planted in between houses, we arent talkin oak or maple here so topping aint a problem especially with a small fruit tree, and with how briddle these things are they need to be topped before they get too big for there britches
 
No, I'm pretty much healed up and back to work. The worst part isn't the foot, but how outta shape laying in a bed for nearly three months made me. Plus, jumping into this heat all of a sudden ain't any help, either. So, I'm taking it easy for the time being.

Hey, do you have a wheeled office chair around? That really helps to scoot around the house, as opposed to crutches. Mine proved invaluable. Just a heads up.
 
i dont but damn i will, now thats some good old fashioned brain busting there, and i know what you mean about the heat, thats why i love the spring time, always gives you a couple of crap days to break ya in before summer, any ideas on how to stay sharp for the job while im down (other than read this web site and my books)
 
I've been using, when appropriate, a ladder called Jaws. I think it's canadian made and cost $500. It's basically like a little giant you see on the infomirtials (spelling?) but heavier with a wide base. I trust it totally, it's never tipped, the wide base give you a chance to save it, and you don't have to worry too much about uneven soft ground, heavy to lug around though.
 
That's an amusing picture, dragging a box around on crutches... sound like a setup our local panhandlers would use to generate sympathy.

I feel you on the swelling, that's really painful. I used rolling chairs a lot too but I had a set of stairs I had to go up and down a bunch... it was miserable on crutches.

Good luck.
 
im finally up and running again, well, limping. now that im walking around a little im having a hard time seeing when im actually going to put on a set of spikes, a little scary, money is getting tight, everyday i miss work is another day im losing money, its really starting to drive me crazy
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