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Comment by giantg2 | Hacker News Reader

"Notably, "unintentional fall" is the #1 cause of emergency department visits for adults"

Most of these are not from DIY, but age realted

Among the workplace population, if you look at fatal workplace accidents [1] you'll find that falls are the second-most-common cause of death (deaths on the road are the most common)

Construction workers have the second-highest number of workplace deaths (transportation workers are the highest) and among construction workers, falls are the most common cause of death.

Transport and construction are second and third in fatalities per worker-hour, with 'farming, fishing and forestry' the most dangerous per worker-hour.

So ladders aren't the most dangerous thing out there - but falls are pretty near the top of the list when it comes to workplace deaths.

That's not to say people can't use ladders safely - just if you're hauling a heavy ass drill up a ladder and it's stopping you using both hands, the cable's flapping around your legs, your pockets are full of sharp pointy tools, and it's raining - maybe think twice :)

[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

I guess the problem I find with using these statistics is that there are a whole lot of people who are... I guess to put it frankly... doing things completely wrong.

For example, I regularly use my table saw but and I see accident videos on Instagram/YouTube where people are doing something inherently dangerous, dumb, and obviously wrong on a table saw that I'd never imagine even trying to do, and then I read replies and everyone is like "oh that's an honest mistake and it could have happen to anyone," which is a complete farce because they should have NEVER even attempted doing it that way to begin with. And if you attempt to explain why this method is dangerous and say something like "oh, you shouldn't do it this way because of the rotation of the blade's spin and the direction that you pushing the piece in means that you pulling your fingers into the blade," they'll attack you and tell you that it's a mistake anyone could make.

I guess it bothers me that people don't try to learn how something works, get into accidents, write it off as honest mistakes, and then thinks everyone makes mistakes as often as them. It's like a major disconnect between learning how to do something and learning how to be good at it and not having imposter syndrome.

How is it age related if it is the number one cause for all ages? Am I misreading the chart?

Look at the spread from #1 to #2. At young ages, the difference is pretty high, suggesting that young kids falling from things is common. In the middle age ranges, #1 and #2 are pretty close, suggesting that falling isn’t that different (from a statistical frequency POV) from the #2 option.

But then look at the split at the older age groups. Falling is by and far the biggest cause. By a ton. Starting at 45, the split just keeps growing. And these numbers are higher in general than any other age group, so they skew the “all ages” numbers by a lot.

So, while it is a major cause for all age groups, the effect size is very age related.

I would suspect that "unintentional fall" also covers falling over (like, the kind of fall that would happen if you tripped over a garden hose), not just falling off something. The former is the most common cause of emergency visits among the older people I know.

I figured for all ages it would also encompass falling off something. A chair, bed, etc… one type is more predominant for the younger ages (falling from something), the other is likely more predominant for the older ages (falling down, tripping, stairs, etc).

Falls hit 50% fatal above a twelve foot drop. Remember kids gravity is an accelerative force. It isn't a static force. You fall faster and faster every second you fall.

Until you hit 'terminal velocity'.

meaning elderly people falling due to mobility/balance issues vs some guy falling off his roof

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