Dangerous suspension. Understanding suspension syndrome & prehospital treatment for those at risk.
40-year-old man is washing windows on a scaffold outside of an office building about 28 feet above the sidewalk when a support rope fails and one side of the platform drops. His safety harness works as designed and prevents him from falling more than a few feet. The straps around his legs pull tight, and he's a little sore from the sudden jerking halt of his fall, but he's not seriously injured. A pedestrian on the street hears the falling scaffold and the man's fearful yell and immediately calls 9-1-1. Rescue units arrive at street-level in six minutes to find the worker dangling above the sidewalk. They immediately set out to rescue him through the office windows, thinking it will take only about 10 minutes to bring him in safely.
Raynovich
Bill
B
EMS for Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. billr@creighton.edu
Rwaili
Farhan Tmaish Al
FT
Bishop
Phillip
P
D000058:Accidental Falls; D001775:Blood Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D007024:Hypotension, Orthostatic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011482:Protective Devices; D013575:Syncope / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013577:Syndrome