Broken hip and arm

[gerntz]

I fell off of a stand-up forklift at my new job. About 4 feet onto cement. I guess I should feel lucky I landed on my arm and hip instead of my head. My head never touched the ground.

Just seeing this thread. Sorry for all you're going thru.

Question: How were you 4' off the floor on a fork lift? On the forks? On something the forks were holding? From what you've said, seems like someone was violating common safety practices.

 

[aaronc879]

Just seeing this thread. Sorry for all you're going thru.

Question: How were you 4' off the floor on a fork lift? On the forks? On something the forks were holding? From what you've said, seems like someone was violating common safety practices.

I wasn't standing on the forks, I was on the platform on a forklift like this.

 

[gerntz]

I wasn't standing on the forks, I was on the platform on a forklift like this.

Thanks. Seems to lack fall safety protection in the design. You proved how dangerous 4' of height is.

 

[Walt34]

Thanks. Seems to lack fall safety protection in the design. You proved how dangerous 4' of height is.

That was what I was thinking. I've never had anything to do with designing things like that forklift but I was thinking it should have at least a couple of safety straps and preferably a cage for the operator to keep him from falling.

 

[MichaelB]

Update from OP:
After 7 weeks in rehab, I have finally moved back home. I am still unable to walk without crutches/walker but making progress. I still have a lot of pain especially while in bed at night. The screws moved early in rehab and as a result I will have pain every time I move my leg until they take the screws out. They can't do that until the bone fully heals in another couple months. Then I will need a new surgery so it'll be several months before i'm back to anything close to normal. Despite that, the doctor says I can go back to work on June 6th for 6 hours a day if my employer can find a job where I sit 100% of the time. If not, then I stay home and continue to get $400/wk in Workers Comp.

Thanks for the update. Hope your rehab goes well and your work is able to accommodate you.

That was what I was thinking. I've never had anything to do with designing things like that forklift but I was thinking it should have at least a couple of safety straps and preferably a cage for the operator to keep him from falling.

I drove one of those for 4 summers and am surprised there aren't more accidents. There's a cage, but only to protect the operator from stuff falling from above. Other than that, it is designed for productivity, not safety.

 

[nvestysly]

To the OP - here's wishing you a speedy and full recovery.

The title of this thread speaks to me. Back in 1998 I broke my right hip and dislocated my right shoulder. I was 39 at the time. I don't mean to take away from the OP but wanted to chime in to indicate how just a slight fall can turn out to be very serious.

I was on an extension ladder - but only on the second step from the ground. I must have had the ladder at the wrong angle. Somehow it slid backwards and I rolled/fell off on my right side. For many years I could still see my fingerprint trail on the gutters of the house where I attempted to grab the gutter to arrest my fall.

After surgery I used a wheelchair for approximately 6 weeks and performed physical (leg) and occupational (arm) therapy during that time. For all practical purposes I recovered but in reality I'm probably at 90% of my full potential. My shoulder will sometimes wake me at night and sometimes my hip bothers me. Both seem to be more problematic with age.

So to the OP and others... yes, a slight fall can be very serious and depending on age and health factors can be even more serious for you that somebody half your age. Fortunately the OP seems to be in good spirits.

 

[rodi]

Aaron - continued wishes for complete recovery.

 

[gerntz]

I drove one of those for 4 summers and am surprised there aren't more accidents. There's a cage, but only to protect the operator from stuff falling from above. Other than that, it is designed for productivity, not safety.

Regardless of what anything is designed for, it does not relieve that design from meeting OSHA protections. Seems to me Aaron should be talking with a competent lawyer.

 

[aaronc879]

To the OP - here's wishing you a speedy and full recovery.

The title of this thread speaks to me. Back in 1998 I broke my right hip and dislocated my right shoulder. I was 39 at the time. I don't mean to take away from the OP but wanted to chime in to indicate how just a slight fall can turn out to be very serious.

I was on an extension ladder - but only on the second step from the ground. I must have had the ladder at the wrong angle. Somehow it slid backwards and I rolled/fell off on my right side. For many years I could still see my fingerprint trail on the gutters of the house where I attempted to grab the gutter to arrest my fall.

After surgery I used a wheelchair for approximately 6 weeks and performed physical (leg) and occupational (arm) therapy during that time. For all practical purposes I recovered but in reality I'm probably at 90% of my full potential. My shoulder will sometimes wake me at night and sometimes my hip bothers me. Both seem to be more problematic with age.

So to the OP and others... yes, a slight fall can be very serious and depending on age and health factors can be even more serious for you that somebody half your age. Fortunately the OP seems to be in good spirits.

You say you were in a wheel chair for 6 weeks? I assume you then went to crutches/walker? How long before you were able to walk without assistance? Tomorrow will be 8 weeks since the accident and I still can't walk though I am making noticeable progress.

This was an on the job injury so there will be some compensation. After one full year I will be considered as recovered as I will get. At that time the surgeon will assign me a disability rating. If i'm 10% disabled then I get approx. $18K, 5% $9K. There could be other compensation as well mainly based on whether or not i'm able to go back to doing the same job for the same money or not.

 

[nvestysly]

You say you were in a wheel chair for 6 weeks? I assume you then went to crutches/walker? How long before you were able to walk without assistance?...

I suppose each situation is different. In my case the surgeon didn't want me to walk for many weeks to allow the bone to heal. So for those 6 weeks at home (not including 2 weeks in the hospital and rehab) I used a wheelchair. Several weeks into the 6 weeks at home the therapist had me walking down the hall but only for limited periods. At the end of wheelchair time I went directly to walking with a cane. Including the hospital stay, rehab in the hospital, rehab at home I was out of work for 13 weeks. Thanks goodness I had short-term disability pay. It may have been as long as 6 months before I walked entirely without the cane.

Of the two injuries - broken hip and dislocated shoulder - the shoulder caused me the most problems then and still today.

It was very odd for me to go through this process. Early on, much of my recovery was a mental hurdle that I had to overcome. I had a very strong aversion to anything that could hurt me. I didn't even want to open the knife drawer in our kitchen because those were items that could cause injury. I had a strong fear of getting in the car to attend doctor appointments because vehicle crashes can be so injurious. Only after several years did I feel comfortable getting on a step stool or anything that resembled a ladder.

Best wishes with your recovery.

 

[MRG]

Regardless of what anything is designed for, it does not relieve that design from meeting OSHA protections. Seems to me Aaron should be talking with a competent lawyer.

I would agree. I've been to many warehouses and never seen that design. In the video I don't see a chain to prevent falling out one entire side.

I know we had a man rack that people would work from with a forklift under them. There was a railing or chain around the entire cage. I recall one day the maintenance guy saying he had to weld the chain back before it could be used.

Good luck.

 

[tmm99]

Very sorry to hear about your accident. I wish you speedy recovery. I know what happened is awful, but watching the video you posted, I am so glad you didn't hit your head going down.

 

[braumeister]

The mind boggles at how common this must be.

I put "fall from forklift" into the most popular search engine and got over 4,000,000 hits.

 

[meierlde]

Thanks. Seems to lack fall safety protection in the design. You proved how dangerous 4' of height is.

According to this link in general 4 feet off the floor/ground is the limit beyond which fall protection is required. (in general there are exceptions in construction etc)At What Height is Fall Protection Required? - Fall Protection Blog
So as others have observed, either the forklift needed a chain around or better yet an anchor where a safety harness can be hooked. Then you add a fall restraint system. (or possibly both)

 

[aaronc879]

Update from OP: Yesterday was 13 weeks since the accident where I broke my hip. I'm still on crutches, unable to walk. I have another surgery on July 27th to remove the screws from the bone. They came out of the bone too far early in my rehab and have been causing increasing pain ever since. After this next surgery, the pain level should go down quickly. I'm hoping to be walking without assistance or significant pain by mid-August. That would be 4.5 months. Hope to be able to go back to my original job by the 6 month mark. In the mean time I am working 30 hours a week helping in the office and get workers comp to cover the other 10 hours per week. Luckily these office hours count towards my probation period and I should be able to join the union in my old position by October. Doctor says one leg is now about a cm longer than the other so I may have a minor limp but it shouldn't prevent me from being able to do the union factory work. The limp will eventually be fixed when I get a hip replacement sometime in he next 10-20 years. It's a slower healing process than I expected but i'm getting better...slowly.

 

[Dawg52]

Glad you are getting better. Sounds like a tough one to get over.

 

[pacergal]

Thank you for the update. I was just thinking about you the other day, wondering how things were going! Hope your next surgery goes well, . Take care

 

[haha]

Yes Aaron, sounds quite tough. But you are on the mend, so things will be better and better now. Congratulations on hanging tough!

Ha

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

To the OP<, I broke my right hip socket( acetabulum)in 1988, I have 3 screws in it to this day. The Dr told me i would need a hip replacement in 20 years. To off set that do not play golf(i never did anyway), stay on the slim side. I was 220ish all my adult life till I retired. So 29 years later and now very fat no hip replacement yet. I was in the hospital 56 days. Non weight bearing. I was back to work in 4.5 months light duty. Since I broke it Off duty I was petrified they were going to fire me. The rules in those days were if you became unfit to fight from a non work related issue, and had less than 5 years service you got a 1/3 pension & no medical. More than 5 years (me) and less than 10 1/3 pension and medical for life. More than 10 half pay and medical. I had a 4 year old at home at the time , i was scared I would be selling pencils on the corner so I did everything I could to get back to full duty. Guys who got hurt like me on duty, never went back to work, just complained they loss range of motion and got off with a 3/4 tax free pension. YMMV. I trust with modern medicine, and your fighting spirit you will be good to live like you did before your accident.

 

[GravitySucks]

Hope the surgery relieves the pain and wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

[Amethyst]

Aaron, I was thinking about you recently and am glad to see this update. Hope to see another one soon with even better news.

A leg length discrepancy can cause back pain, so just be aware of that, and try to do lots of core strengthening exercises. I hope you have a good physical therapist - or PT staff in your case, as I imagine one person wouldn't be enough.

Update from OP: Yesterday was 13 weeks since the accident where I broke my hip. I'm still on crutches, unable to walk. I have another surgery on July 27th to remove the screws from the bone. They came out of the bone too far early in my rehab and have been causing increasing pain ever since. After this next surgery, the pain level should go down quickly. I'm hoping to be walking without assistance or significant pain by mid-August. That would be 4.5 months. Hope to be able to go back to my original job by the 6 month mark. In the mean time I am working 30 hours a week helping in the office and get workers comp to cover the other 10 hours per week. Luckily these office hours count towards my probation period and I should be able to join the union in my old position by October. Doctor says one leg is now about a cm longer than the other so I may have a minor limp but it shouldn't prevent me from being able to do the union factory work. The limp will eventually be fixed when I get a hip replacement sometime in he next 10-20 years. It's a slower healing process than I expected but i'm getting better...slowly.

 

[aaronc879]

Aaron, I was thinking about you recently and am glad to see this update. Hope to see another one soon with even better news.

A leg length discrepancy can cause back pain, so just be aware of that, and try to do lots of core strengthening exercises. I hope you have a good physical therapist - or PT staff in your case, as I imagine one person wouldn't be enough.

I'm not seeing a physical therapist until after my next surgery. With the screws grinding against the inside of my leg, the surgeon doesn't feel PT would be very beneficial to me right now. Very shortly after my next surgery, he plans to put me in an "intensive PT program". The way he said it scares me a little. I will have to work at least 6 hours a day, maybe 8, then do "intensive PT" as well. That will be very difficult but I guess it's necessary.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I had a friend with different length of legs due to an accident and he had his shoes made by a specialist. The shoes had different size soles so when he walked with them on he was equal.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

It's possible a shoe insert will suffice, and be cheaper, and transferable to a new/different pair of shoes. Have one friend for whom this option worked.

Best wishes for your continued recovery. Hopefully you will get a good experienced PT team. Such can make a world of difference, and not just physically, but as kind of a cheer you on squad as well.

 

[aja8888]

Aaron, good luck with the next surgery. I have a new hip and it work just fine.