If you talk to a mountain biker and ask them if they have ever been injured, the answer will more than likely be yes. In fact, they’ve probably anticipated it and prepared for it by wearing safety equipment

But if you talk to someone who has fallen off a ladder, sustaining an injury wasn’t something they considered until it was too late.

We spoke with Dr David Lamond about the kinds of injuries we see as a result of ladder falls, compared to mountain bikes accidents.

Dave wears three hats, he works in our Emergency Department, for our ACT Trauma Service and on the SouthCare rescue helicopter as the Deputy Director of the Capital Region Retrieval Service.

So, he’s been firsthand to plenty of ladder and mountain bike accidents.

‘When you look at the statistics you see that people who fall off ladders stay in hospital twice as long as those who have a mountain bike accident.’

While we see more mountain bike accidents, the severity of the injuries from ladder falls is often worse and their hospital stay is much longer.

The average age for someone who has a mountain bike accident is 32, while ladder accidents are predominantly males aged 55 years old.

‘Most of our patients wear helmets when falling off a mountain bike. Helmets are very effective in low-speed accidents.’

‘Plus, they often have risk management in place where they understand a fall is very likely or highly possible. Before they jump, they often are assessing the risk – what happens if I miss this or take it too fast.’

Scott was one of 205 patients, in the last financial year, who the ACT Trauma Service treated after he had a mountain bike accident.

He was 100m from his home when he fell three metres after bailing from a roll-over jump to protect himself. He landed on his hip and broke his pelvis in nine spots.

‘I’ve been a cyclist my whole life. But my two boys, now 16 and 18, are getting into enduro riding so I’ve tried to change my riding ability to keep on riding with them. I don’t do the big jumps, I just roll over most of them,’ said Scott.

After his fall, Scott thought he would be able to stand up and walk to his house, that’s when he realised that he was in a significant amount of pain.

‘I called my wife and her and my two boys came to help. We live on a property, so they tried to get me into the car to take me to hospital. They tried to put me in the front seat, but I couldn’t move my leg, so they had to drag me into the back seat.’

Scott was treated by our ACT Trauma Service and spent almost three and a half weeks in hospital recovering, undergoing two surgeries and months long rehab which he’s still doing to do this day. He still doesn’t have full range of motion in his right leg, only about 70%.

‘After the number of times that I’ve ridden, you understand that falling might be chance. I wasn’t doing anything silly when I fell off, it was just one of those things.’

While Dave acknowledged that when people climb a ladder they don’t often think about the risks.

‘Falling off a ladder can be potentially fatal or could permanently alter your life. So, my advice is to think hard before you climb up at that height. Is it worth the risk of what you’re doing?’ said Dave.

In Australia, generally if you work two metres or above you need to wear a harness. But most people climbing a ladder at home won’t wear any protective gear.

‘I think that people have the impression that if you fall off a ladder or roof that you’ll be able to control it. You often can’t. Most people think that they will be able to grab the gutter, but it doesn’t work like that.’

‘If you’re going to climb a ladder don’t be by yourself. Get someone to stabilise the ladder and watch you the whole time. I have heard of plenty of stories where people have come home to find the ladder on the ground with their loved one semi-conscious and badly injured in the garden.’

Tony was one of 100 patients, in the last financial year, who we treated after he fell from a ladder.

Before heading down to the coast to meet up with his wife, Tony climbed onto the roof to get a solar spotlight.

It had been raining earlier that day so the ground was still wet. It wasn’t until Tony was starting to climb down from the roof that the ladder became unstable and Tony fell over 2.4m to the ground.

It was lucky that his neighbour was home that day and heard the noise, he swiftly came over and called the Ambulance. Tony was soon seen and treated at Canberra Hospital by our ACT Trauma Service.

Tony shattered his pelvis, broke his left elbow and had significant internal bleeding. He had to wait two weeks for the internal bleeding to settle before he could have his first operation. He spent the next six weeks in hospital recovering and since his fall in January he’s had to use a walking stick and is still undergoing rehab.

‘I’ve worked in the building industry and have been climbing on my own roof for years to clean the gutters. I was never afraid,’ said Tony.

‘Now I tell my sons and anyone who will listen, pay someone to do the work on the roof for you. A fall may only take two seconds, but then it takes a whole year or more to recover from it and it is a difficult road to the recovery. I recently lost a friend overseas who had a similar fall.’

So, if you’re planning on going mountain biking riding, please wear protective equipment and assess the risks. If you’re considering climbing a ladder, please avoid it if you can and pay someone else to do the work.

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