Dr. Alan Lazzara combined his love of hunting deer, turkey and squirrels with his work as an emergency medicine doctor to research hunting safety.
The results of the study are timely with bow season underway in Michigan and deer firearms season a month away for the 700,000 hunters in Michigan.
Lazzara, an emergency medicine specialist at Henry Ford Allegiance in Jackson, found that injuries from falling out of a tree stand are two to three times more common than injury from hunting firearms negligence.
“I just did a research study over the last two years, we looked at the last five years of data and found six or seven tree stand injuries per year which doesn’t seem like a lot. But when it comes to the number of things afflicting hunters, that’s the No. 1 serious injury — falling from a tree stand,’’ Lazzara said.’
The doctor could not emphasize enough that hunters should wear full-body safety harnesses every time they get into an elevated position.
“People use deer stands to get up in the tree, to disperse their scent, to make it so the animals can’t see them, to get a better shot angle. People typically go up anywhere from 10 to 25 to 30 feet in the air which is really high. That kind of vertical fall trauma is kind of like being hit by a car when you hit the ground so the types of injuries people get,’’ Lazzara said.
He equates the safety harness to wearing a seatbelt.
“Like your grandfather probably didn’t wear a seatbelt all the time. So people teaching young hunters to hunt might not be displaying the best safety protocols, at least I know my mentors didn’t when it comes to wearing a safety harness, certainly with firearms they did,’’ Lazzara said.
“It’s kind of a newer thing over the last 30 years people have been getting into the elevated stands — there’s a big industry in producing these commercial stands, these ladder stands you can buy for $100 or $200 and put them against a tree.’’
The doctor said he knows plenty of educated young people who get into a tree stand without a safety harness. On one hand it’s hard for him to comprehend, on the other hand he gets it because it’s not something they grew up doing.
Also he suggests using a haul line to raise and lower unloaded firearms into the tree stand to keep hands free for climbing up the tree stand.
Another key point to safe hunting is to avoid alcohol and drug use.
“Not only is it unsafe for you and other people, also it decreases your hunting ability,’’ Lazzara said. “If you’re intoxicated you’re not going to hunt as well. It’s a very poor decision on multiple levels.’’
It’s also important for hunters to let people know where they are going and what time whether it’s by text or leaving a note on the dashboard of your car. Also he suggests carrying an emergency signal device like a cellphone or a whistle or both.
“Some of the research I’ve done on tree stand falls shows that if you keep your stand at a more reasonable height like 10 to 15 feet which is all you really need, you’re less likely to be seriously injured as opposed to when you fall from a much higher height,’’ Lazzara said. “That depends. If somebody falls out of a tree and hits their head they’re going to be hurt regardless if it’s 5 feet or 15 feet but the studies have shown that people who climb higher beyond 15 feet tend to experience more neurological injuries when they fracture something in their back, like a spinal cord injury.’’
Also before the first hunting trip each season inspecting tree stands is important especially the nylon straps on ladder stands. Lazzara said the DNR and a lot of people don’t recommend homemade wooden stands any more because the homemade treehouse stands degrade over time.
He learned to hunt from his dad when he was about 10, had a break during high school and college, but got back to hunting during medical school.
“It’s like hiking with a purpose in my mind. You’re out there, you’re obtaining food for your family. For me it’s extremely rewarding to do a physical activity and bring something home for my kids and share that,’’ Lazzara said.
In his research he found about 4-6 tree stand related injuries per 10,000 big game hunters.
“That number is not like car crashes or drug overdoses, really huge social problems, but for hunters when you compare it to the number of hunting related firearm injuries that’s only 1.66 per 10,000. It’s 2-3 times the rate of injury with tree stands compared to firearm injuries,’’ Lazzara said.
“We’ve had such an emphasis on firearm safety. They added tree stand safety 15 or 20 years ago to the hunter safety courses but people only take that one time in their life,’’ Lazzara said. “… I think it’s important to continually give people reminders.’’
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Emergency doctor shares tips for safe hunting in Michigan - The Morning Sun
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