# how far is too far?



## rsdemt (May 8, 2008)

How far would a person have to fall to die?
This was asked on Yahoo answers.
I said it depends on the persons, height weight, obstacles while falling, and basic physics.
Does any one have an exact answer to this? Like 10, 20, 50 feet?
Thank you!


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## MAC4NH (May 8, 2008)

I don't know if any studies have been done quantifying what percentage of people die from a fall of 10 ft, from a fall of 20 ft, etc.  With all the variables involved (distance of fall, surface pt fell onto, how pt landed, age of pt) I don't think you can come up with a cut and dried figure.  People have died falling to the floor from a standing position.  Others have survived 3 digit fall heights.  I think you can generalize that a higher percentage of people die as the distance of the fall increases.

For an adult, a fall of 3 times the person's height (~ 20 ft) is considered a severe fall (Source:  Brady Paramedic Care, Vol 4, 3rd edition).  It is safe to assume that the percentage of pts. dying will increase as you go past 20ft until you reach a height where there are no documented survivors.

I'm curious to see what the research says.


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## Meursault (May 8, 2008)

Tell the asker that there are surer methods.


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## JPINFV (May 8, 2008)

MrConspiracy said:


> Tell the asker that there are surer methods.




There's a thread on studentdoctor.net emergency medicine board covering that. I thought the comment about how most of the students in one person's class all had favorite methods after completing toxicology was somewhat humorous.

I think that a better question would be, given their air speed velocity, how many swallows would be needed to help someone survive.


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## weretiger13 (May 9, 2008)

African Swallow or European Swallow?


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## NJN (May 9, 2008)

weretiger13 said:


> African Swallow or European Swallow?



I think the more important question is if the swallow is laden or unladen?


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## BossyCow (May 9, 2008)

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?


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## JPINFV (May 9, 2008)

weretiger13 said:


> African Swallow or European Swallow?



Well it really is a question of weight ratios.


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## Jon (May 9, 2008)

How far is too far?

I know of a case where grandma fell from standing, whacked her head on a step, and died soon thereafter of a major head injury.

There was also a story on here last week about a person falling 500 feet and surviving.

And a kid I went to high school with tried to fly off of a 4-story parking garage last year and failed.

I really don't think there is a concrete answer... no pun intended.


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## Buzz (May 9, 2008)

How long is it going to take someone to reach terminal velocity? After a certain height, any additional distance isn't going to matter. I know of a case of a man that survived a fall of 1000m into a plowed when his parachute failed. 

As has been said, it's going to depend on the surface on which they land and how they land. People have died from simply fainting and landing the wrong way.


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## Meursault (May 9, 2008)

JPINFV said:


> There's a thread on studentdoctor.net emergency medicine board covering that. I thought the comment about how most of the students in one person's class all had favorite methods after completing toxicology was somewhat humorous.
> 
> I think that a better question would be, given their air speed velocity, how many swallows would be needed to help someone survive.



African or European?

And I was about to link to that thread, actually. Foresight, intelligence, determination; it figures that the people that most need to stay alive are the best at dying.


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## ffemt8978 (May 10, 2008)

Buzz said:


> How long is it going to take someone to reach terminal velocity? After a certain height, any additional distance isn't going to matter. I know of a case of a man that survived a fall of 1000m into a plowed when his parachute failed.
> 
> As has been said, it's going to depend on the surface on which they land and how they land. People have died from simply fainting and landing the wrong way.



It is estimated that the *human body* reaches 99% of its low-level *terminal velocity* after falling 573m 1880ft which takes 13-14 sec


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## ki4mus (May 10, 2008)

seen pt's die from falling from a standing postion, then watch one fall 50+ feet over a rock cliff and have nothing more than a HUGE contustion and a few small cuts....


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## Ridryder911 (May 11, 2008)

From what I have seen it is not usually the fall, rather the sudden stop that kills them...

R/r 911


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## eggshen (May 11, 2008)

Not sure where I read it but I was under the impression the the LD 50 for falls is greater than twice their height or there abouts. 

Well done on the Python reference by the way.

Egg


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## Night Shift (May 16, 2008)

Here in Salt Lake City, August of 2007, a window washer fell 75 feet after his rigging failed, and he lived.
Here is a link to the news report:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/82307-window-washer-survives-75-foot-fall-from-downtown-building/678675341


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## Outbac1 (May 16, 2008)

While we know a person can die from a fall from standing height or less I thought I'd see who survived the highest fall. It appears to be a stewardess who survived a 33,000 ft fall when her airliner blew up in 1972. There are also reports of some WWll bomber crew who survived 20,000 ft falls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-fall
http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/wreckage.html


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