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Imagine a construction worker that’s been involved in a fall and is waiting patiently for rescue… probably playing with his marbles solitaire.  In walks suspension trauma… Suspension trauma occurs after a fall, when the worker left suspended in the air by their harness.

Ultimately, blood begins to pool in his legs and his heart is unable to pump it back up to his brain.  The body’s natural instinct is to faint, which makes perfect sense.  His body wants him to faint.  This way his body can fall over and the blood can redistribute throughout his body.  The problem with suspension trauma is that when the worker passes out, he doesn’t fall over.  (Another case of man screwing up the natural order of life).

Once the victim passes out, the blood fails to reach his brain.  The brain no longer receives oxygen, and he will kick the bucket die.

Unfortunately, no one is immune to suspension trauma, and we have no idea how a body will react until it happens.  (Note: we wouldn’t recommend testing this.) In fact, people react differently to suspension trauma one day to another.

So how long does a person actually have?  It’s impossible to say.  Worst case scenario… the victim is dead in 10 minutes.  Some people last 10 minutes, while others hang on for an hour.  It just depends.  The important thing to remember is that there isn’t much time, and you don’t get a free pizza for tardiness.

To prevent this from occurring, it’s imperative to have a rescue plan in place on the job-site, and quality rescue equipment to make the rescue faster.   It’s a very serious risk.  Hopefully, these suspension trauma facts have encouraged you to be a little more diligent with your rescue plan.

Technorati Tags: fall protection, harness, suspension trauma

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