tree stand accident update

[gogo]

I posted a while back about my wife's uncle's tree stand accident, the results were two shattered ankles.More details came to light, wait till you read this. That day two hunting parties went out, they stayed in different cabins but beside each other. My wifes uncle climbed into a homemade tree stand that had a roof on it.He noticed a loose board on the roof got up to move it and the whole stand fell out of the tree.This happened at 4 in the afternoon.When the guys were done hunting each one thought the wifes uncle was with the other partie.Mean while the wifes uncle is calling on the walkie talkie but the other guys did not have theirs on .By the time they figured out he was not back it was 9 pm, he layed out there for 5 hrs.Then the nearest hospital was at least a 100 miles away.These are the details we got so far, lots of errors made from the get go.Talk about everything going wrong.

[saxman]

Wow
That is scarey stuff gogo.
Sorry he suffered through that.
This post is a great lesson for us all to always wear a harness or vest, let someone know we are hunting,where we are hunting,when we expect to be back and carry a communication device like a cell phone,if two ways are used there is no excuse for them not to be on.
There are radios that are silent and wont spook game but you can tell you have a transmisson.I NEVER hunt from homemade stands that I didn't build unless I know the builder very well.
I hope he heals well.

[agingcrossbower]

That is very sad news gogo. Hope everything returns to normal. All that time on the ground. Ouch!

[Crispy]

Hope he is doing well. I hunt on the family farm and my dad nows where my stands are. Always carry my cell phone but sometimes wonder about all the what ifs.

[flbuckmaster]

Thats terrible! 20 years ago I climbed into a homemade ladder stand and before I could sit down it collasped. Been in a wheelchair ever since. Anybody who hunts form a stand and doesnt wear a harness is just plain stupid! back then they didnt have saftey gear, now there is no excuse!
jay

[Hi5]

I'm not sure a safety harness would have helped. It may even have caused more problems.

That stand apparently had a roof. If the hunter were secured to the tree, he may have been crushed by the roof as the man and the structure reached the end of his harness. I guess it depends on how much structure he had over his head.

Like somebody else has said, don't trust someone else's tree stand.

[Cossack]

Wishing him the best of luck in a speedy recovery.
Statistics show that 1 in 3 who use tree stands will ultimately have an accident, albeit perhaps not as serious as this one. ONE in THREE. Coincidentally, the rate is much higher among the folks I'm familiar with, more like 2 in three; three were injured VERY seriously. If you're hunting up-stands and don't use a safety harness in the stand PLUS a safety rope, while going up and down, it's just a matter of time before you fall in some manner. SOME of my personal acquaintances: Sat on the railing, which broke, bad back for rest of life. Fell asleep in stand, rolled out, in hospital for a week. Fell out of stand while getting out, broke ankle and opposite knee, took 3 hrs to CRAWL to truck for nearly a mile....kept passing out from pain. Took LADDER STAND for downward ride while moving it. Wind blew stand sideways, had removed stand restrains and dropping them to ground. Bottom portion of climbing stand let loose at 25+ feet, bear- hugging tree on way down left arms scratched and bleeding Etc, etc.