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Last Post 11/14/2014 10:59 AM by  jhooker
I fell off the roof for the first time in my life
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Medulus
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01/25/2010 4:11 PM

Check out the archives and you will find too often the announcement of those who have died or are paralyzed for life by a fall from a roof. A few words to the wise: Never forget where you are. Never get too comfortable. Never try to stare down a roof and hope to win. Never ever walk backwards*.

I climb roofs now with felt bottom wading shoes. These are made to wade in running water across slimy rocks. The cost is well worth it. But never trust your life to your shoes. Use some judgement and listen to the internal voice, whether that internal voice sounds like Christ, Gautama Siddharta, Krishna, Yahveh Sabaoth, Sun Myung Moon, the Virgin of Guadalupe, or the great cosmic navel. The only silly superstition is the one you didn't hear because you were being macho.

And I still think Daniel 4:28-37 makes great reading for catadjusters.  Otherwise we are likely to turn into the Applebee's parking lot guy.  And we can all live without the Applebee's parking lot guy.

* Unless this is required for some rope and harness techniques, in which case I will leave it to the experts to explain when one may safely walk backwards.

Steve Ebner CPCU AIC AMIM

"With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Martin Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)
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freebob
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01/25/2010 5:15 PM
Glad you're OK. Some of us it killed or disabled. I fell off my first in Seattle a couple years ago. A wood shake wood,5/12, when it started to rain while i was on the ridge. 12' to a concrete patio below. It hurt my pride more than any else despite the brusies I discovered later. Great opportunity to stay in the room and get caught up on my writing for an extra day.Be careful out there.
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Ray Hall
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01/25/2010 6:16 PM

I was working in OK City in 1990 and a good dud had one of the light metal ladder that fitted a swede into an upset and had two little rubber tips on the bottom. (have not seen one in 20 years) On the way  down on a walkon the darn thing came apart and he put out both hands to catch his backward body fall and broke both wrist  and in a full plaster cast of 12 weeks or longer. His wife drove him home and did many routine things a person does with their hands for months. uhh

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ddreisbach
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01/26/2010 11:33 AM
Posted By John Pendergrass on 23 Jan 2010 03:35 PM

I get alot of funny looks in the summer time when I put on my US Army leather gloves before I get on a roof, Learned the same lesson as you years ago and tore up my hands, now like you , if it aint looking safe, stay off, rope off, or get help and I always WEAR MY GLOVES,  glad you are OK,

I'll second the glove idea.  I wear mechanics gloves to protect my hands from the abrasion and heat of the roof in the summer, and to keep them warm in the winter.  When properly fitted you can easily handle pens and tools with them on.  Also, I wear Cougar Paws.

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Olegred
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01/26/2010 1:15 PM
Posted By ddreisbach on 26 Jan 2010 11:33 AM
Posted By John Pendergrass on 23 Jan 2010 03:35 PM

I get alot of funny looks in the summer time when I put on my US Army leather gloves before I get on a roof, Learned the same lesson as you years ago and tore up my hands, now like you , if it aint looking safe, stay off, rope off, or get help and I always WEAR MY GLOVES,  glad you are OK,

I'll second the glove idea.  I wear mechanics gloves to protect my hands from the abrasion and heat of the roof in the summer, and to keep them warm in the winter.  When properly fitted you can easily handle pens and tools with them on.  Also, I wear Cougar Paws.


Like what kind are we talking about? where can I get those?

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FloridaBoy
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01/26/2010 3:39 PM
Posted By Meg on 23 Jan 2010 07:58 PM
Posted By Olegred on 22 Jan 2010 07:03 PM
And by the way, you mix Christianity and buddhism/hinduism , both are stupid superstitions.



 

Is there anything you don't voice your opinion about?   I don't care for your language either; quite inappropriate in this environment.  

You certainly are full of yourself, aren't you?

 

Yes he is but he got a wake up call and I hope he heeds it.



 

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ddreisbach
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01/26/2010 6:07 PM
Posted By Olegred on 26 Jan 2010 01:15 PM
Posted By ddreisbach on 26 Jan 2010 11:33 AM
Posted By John Pendergrass on 23 Jan 2010 03:35 PM

I get alot of funny looks in the summer time when I put on my US Army leather gloves before I get on a roof, Learned the same lesson as you years ago and tore up my hands, now like you , if it aint looking safe, stay off, rope off, or get help and I always WEAR MY GLOVES,  glad you are OK,

I'll second the glove idea.  I wear mechanics gloves to protect my hands from the abrasion and heat of the roof in the summer, and to keep them warm in the winter.  When properly fitted you can easily handle pens and tools with them on.  Also, I wear Cougar Paws.


Like what kind are we talking about? where can I get those?

You can get them at any auto parts store or Sears.  www.mechanix.com/automotive/the-original-glove



 

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Olegred
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01/27/2010 2:25 PM
Cool. I'll get those. What about harness? Home Depot, I guess, right?
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claims_ray
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01/27/2010 4:15 PM

I would suggest that the harness can be found at a sporting goods store as it typically is related to the sport of repelling.  I would read through the posts concerning steep roofs which has information from several that have experience in this area.

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claims_ray
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01/27/2010 4:21 PM
I would also recommend obtaining training in this area before I was to use a rope and harness.
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Tim
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01/30/2010 11:29 PM

I've been adjusting for 20 years and fell off my first and only roof about a year ago. It was raining and cold. My mistake was using the insured's crappy ladder. Always use your own equipment. I was getting off the roof and the ladder was on a wet slick wooden deck. When I put all my weight on the ladder it started sliding on the deck. You couldn't have pulled the the ladder out from under me that fast if you tried.

I fell forward and my shins caught the edge of the roof and my chin hit the roof. This tossed me backward and I landed on the deck in a perfect WWE body slam position and the back of my head slammed into the deck. Mr. Insured witnessed the event and was standing over me asking if I was OK. Mr. Insured's mother in law had died the night before and a house full of women came running out when they heard the racket also asking if I was OK. I said I don't know. Did the old rub the back of the head and check for blood. No blood. Arms work, legs work. Checked out the skinned up shins and said I think I'm OK . Just let me sit here and catch my breath for a couple of minutes. Concluded the claim and called it a day. I was real lucky. Lesson learned I never ever ever use any ladder that is not mine and I did not set up. Don't get in a hurry or cut corners because it's cold and raining. Also a heavy winter coat really helps out when you get body slammed.

About 15 year ago I fell through the roof decking doing hail claims in Shreveport. I was walking along on the roof. Stopped to grab my tape measure and next thing I know rotten roof decking gives way and I"m supporting my weight with my underarms and elbows on the decking. This was a flat roof with roll roofing and no visible signs of rot.  I had to add some drywall ceiling repairs where my feet were kicking around inside the interior room. Ripped up a good pair of pants and shirt too.

 

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Leland
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01/31/2010 12:15 AM
I used to ride a motorcycle all the time and still have an old bike in my yard that runs, I will take it out one more time before I sell it.

One thing I learned from motorcycles that also applies to roofs is to eliminate distractions so you can have 100% concentration on the main task. So I ALWAYS take my camera and sling it around my neck and opposite shoulder so it can't fall off of me or swing around. I hitch up my pants, tuck in my shirt, and tighten my belt sometimes, to get more comfortable body movement. I never carry anything in my hand. I might stick my tape measure in my pocket so I don't worry about it falling off my belt. Instead of a clipboard or a file I just fold some paper and stick it in my back pocket. I'd rather have messy notes that I have to redo than fall off a roof.

I also used to goof around on rocks a bit, no real rock climbing but bouldering. That taught me to keep my weight over my feet and to use my legs for raising my body weight. If you overcome your fear and try to stand up at least a bit straighter it may be safer. Crouching (due to fear) can put weight forward on your hands which reduces the weight pressing down on your feet which can allow your feet to slip out from under you. If you need to use your arms to lift yourself its probably not safe. If I grab something like a gutter or a CATV antenna I try to make a very conscious effort to hold it very lightly just for steadying myself and not for holding my weight.

Another thing I noticed is that getting down can be much harder than going up. Sometimes its more natural to jump forward like a mountain goat than to ease on down backwards not being sure where your feet need to go. Me and another adjuster got stuck on a roof in New Orleans this way- we were just barely able to spring up onto it but were to too scared to go back down and besides we were staring at a spike topped wrought iron fence. We just sat up there and yelled for a guy about a half a block away who finally heard us and brought over a real 30' ladder (how lucky we were). Embarrassing, but we didn't get hurt. So after that experience I think more carefully about my exit strategy. Of course if you can't get down you can always call 911 and ask for a ladder truck, like a cat stuck in a tree.

Sometimes I get a sick feeling in my stomach later,often at night, like a delayed stress feeling. I try not to let heights bother me when I'm on the roof because I think is bad to think about it when I'm up there but then hours later I get a feeling of nausea wash over me. Anybody else experience this?

The other day I went to a house that I recognized and the homeowner said, yes, you were here before, 5 years ago. I was shocked because I didn't realize I had worked for the same company already 5 years.

One of things I do to liven up my day after doing so many claims that I can't remember even the suicides is little challenges or things to do to add interest. I try to take better and better photos, for example. One thing I do is try to get the insureds into the photos pointing at the damages. I don't do it to make them look bad, just to make the photo more interesting. If they don't want to be in the photo I let them be. When I take roof photos near the edge of the roof I try to get a bit of the ground below in the edge of the photo. I discovered that it is possible to take photos showing how high up I am and the photo might even make the file examiner sick from vertigo just looking over the edge of the roof and seeing how very very far away the ground is. Is that bad to include one photo like that?

Does anybody else do any thing like this? I mean what do you do after taking at least 100,000 photos? That might be a low estimate.

Does anybody else feel like they are developing X-Ray vision? I can start to tell whats behind a wall because I have drawn so many floor plans. I can guess how big the closet is even though I can't see it. Does anybody else start to think about what the architect was thinking? I feel like I have drawn so many floor plans like I know every which way to design a house.

Anyway I started another thread with a photo of a roof I took. Its very closeup but maybe I can get some comments on what it is.
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Ray Hall
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01/31/2010 11:00 AM

Most of the inspections I make have the RC needed and I walk around the house before getting on the roof. I try to guess the SF of living space and the sq,s of the roof. After many years you can get pretty accurate, BUT still measure. I like to look at the roof before the interior and when I see a leak inside I know the cause.On hail/wind I always look for exterior damage on this walk around. I also see the mean dogs, trampolines, other underwriter notes. These notes put you in the hunt to be an "A" adjuster as well as "GOOD photos with good labels and diagrams. The short form Reports are most important and you should not be short, just not long and check your spellingEVER time.

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CatAdjusterX
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04/05/2010 1:19 AM

26 October 2009

I was on the very top of a 24 ft extension ladder, roof was high and to reach the roof , the ladder was close to vertical and I threw common sense out the window and made the climb with one person bracing the ladder at ground level and another from a 2nd floor window, the only thing more ridiculous than that set up was the fool (me) that made the climb.

I did not want to give the risk to a steep roof team , so I made the climb and everything that followed was what I deserved.

Coming off the roof to make the downward climb, the person on the 2nd floor was not holding the ladder and I tipped the ladder. I don't remember the accident , I awoke a day later in the hospital, but the police report had statements from the homeowner and the Public Adjuster that was there for the re-inspection with me repping the Insurance company.

I landed on a 4 ft chain link fence and had a compound fracture (through the skin) of my left leg, broken pelvis, 4 broken ribs that separated from my sternum, broken jaw and a fractured skull.

The PA stated that I stopped breathing so he gave me CPR  until the paramedics got there (I guess all PA's aren't all bad : ) He broke my ribs from the CPR, I have since learned that is a common occurrence in prolonged CPR.

I had my jaw wired shut for 3 weeks, my pelvis and skull have healed nicely as they were only fractured. My Ribs took some time but are now good.

When my leg broke , it tore and severed alot of my leg muscle and I had some muscle death and was told I'm looking at over a year till it would fully heal.   As an Independent adjuster I couldn't afford to take a year off and I had the option to have a surgery to put rods in my leg bones for stability and would drastically reduce my recovery, so I went for it , that was in December and as of today, I have been out of my wheelchair for over 3 weeks and can walk with a cane reasonably well.

I had a complication from my skull fracture as an aneurysm developed under the fracture line (blood clot).  I had surgery to remove the nasty and I am looking at being able to go back to work around the middle of May 2010.

I will be looking for a new job as well

because I was fired from the company I was employed by for over 4 years. Don't misunderstand because I deserved to get fired for my stupidity and I just want to let not only new adjusters, but even adjusters with a few years under your belt to know that just one moment of stupidity , a momentary lapse of judgement can not only cost you  your job and families security, but could cost you your life !!

Please learn from my stupidity, reschedule or hand it over to a steep roof team , it's not worth your job or your life !!

 

                                                                                                                                                                                        Robby Robinson

"A good leader leads..... ..... but a great leader is followed !!" CatAdjusterX@gmail.com
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brunsbeck
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05/04/2010 12:29 AM

Why would you get on a 10/12 with algae on it ? Sounds like you survived.I guess you learned a lesson. I am old school. Assumption of risk? This is not a bragging matter. Hold your  cards closer. Good luck.  BECK

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yumadj
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05/05/2010 12:07 AM

Catadjuster X....you really took a hit! Glad you are alive after reading all that. First, it's not particularly stupid to rely on someone to hold your ladder even if it is near perpendicular to the ground. Who do you trust? I take a ladder-helper with me to help tote the ladder late in the day, and to hold fast when I am set up on concrete...a steep situation, et cet. If i have an insured holding it I look down and check if he is and am not hesitant to tell him to hold it better. For a company to release you saying you were somehow negligent is crazy. I don't see anything you did that is different from what we all do. A slight variation in body weight creating a tip? That isn't negligence, that is chance. Yes, there is chance. Good planning and a step at at time is improving your chances, but that is all. I put a ladder on a wet deck *WRONG. The ladder slipped as I was ascending and I luckily was able to grab the gutter and hang until I was ready to drop...the gutter was only about 11 feet...and I am probably 9 with arms extended, but it still seemed aways. I banged my leg on something and it hurt for awhile but that was it. Lesson learned and the carrier paid for the gutter.  Well, not quite....I was on a dewy tarp..and started surfing I threw myself down and grabbed a tarp nailer and then clambered back up. Lesson learned again, but now embedded. No wet roofs, no dewy roofs, no tarps, no wet decks. I had a roofer show me to lean into the slope at all times when the pitch is steep, this is a good thing to do. Otherwise, it is a step at a time. I have never had a client call me on roof edge shots if you take in all slopes.

Jeff Finley

 

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Roy Estes
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06/03/2010 11:35 AM
Glad you are OK AdjusterX, May be adventagious to use the Steep team on next claim. There is not a claim in the world worth your life. SAFETY is # 1 and above all. All Carriers will agree, and in the years of this business I have yet to have any carrier question safety, ladder assists, or anything when it comes to safety.
 
BE SAFE OUT THERE, LIFE IS ALREADY TO SHORT!
 
"Each of us as human beings has a responsibility to reach out to help our brothers and sisters affected by disasters. One day it may be us or our loved ones needing someone to reach out and help." RC ESTES
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KevinJ
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10/21/2010 5:25 PM
I had a 2 story 9/12 pitch once where the carrier paid to have a roofer climb it and photograph it for me. This guy was fearless, but very slow and careful. A trick he taught me was to take along a piece of foam rubber a bit bigger than your butt, and if coming down looks a lot tougher than going up was(why is that anyways??seems to happen a lot) just sit on the foam slide down a ways, reposition it again and work your way down. Sometimes those 7/12's can fool ya.
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CatAdjusterX
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04/25/2011 4:33 PM

As most of you know, on 26 October 2009 I fell of a 24 ft extension ladder. I was in the hospital for a few weeks with a broken leg, broken pelvis, ribs, jaw and skull fracture. I had two separate operations(pins in my leg/remove a blood clot from my skull). I was wheelchair bound for a few months and to this day I still walk with a cane.

. It took me 9 months to rehab and go back to work.

It is with great sadness that I must report that on 23 April 2011, FOATA member Brian Jones fell from a ladder and severely broke both of his legs.

When I first heard about this I felt sick to my stomach and was and am sincerely heartbroken. Brian is without a doubt one of the best of the best of the next generation of adjusters. Brian has worked steadily since getting into the industry just a few short years ago.

I can tell that I spoke to Brian moments ago, he is in the hospital of course and will be for the next few weeks.

This accident happened not from a 2 or 3 story roof or a 9/12 pitch roof.

Brian fell from a 1 story 4/12 pitch roof. He was inspecting a multi-level roof and on  the one story part of the roof, the insured said instead of going around and grabbing Brian's ladder, to use the insured's ladder. Brian did that and climbed the ladder with the insured bracing the ladder(A  telescoping Gorilla)to mark his test squares. When Brian was done, the insured was not bracing the ladder. He put his first foot a few rungs down. He remembers thinking the insured placed the ladder in a puddle on a smooth finish concrete patio and as he brought his other foot onto the ladder it slid out and he fell the 9 ft to the concrete below. He told me his feet landed flat on the concrete and he fell on his stomach as both legs snapped. The paramedics arrived he is now in the hospital. He has had one surgery to stabilize his legs with rods and screws and pins. He is going to have quite a few more surgeries and looking at a minimum of 6 months to a year of rehab.

Brian is a father to wonderful children and a husband to Summer Jones. Please send your prayers and wishes to:

                                             ky_adjuster@yahoo.com 

 

It should be noted that both Brians fall and my own fall occured using SOMEONE ELSES LADDER !!!!! RULE #1) DONT USE ANY LADDER BUT YOUR OWN !!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Robby Robinson

Cat Operations Manager

AMERICAN VETERAN CATASTROPHE SERVICES 

 

"A good leader leads..... ..... but a great leader is followed !!" CatAdjusterX@gmail.com
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Medulus
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04/26/2011 1:54 PM
Amen, Robby. I will second that. Always use your own ladder (or the ladder supplied by a roofing contractor). Just simply explain to the insured that your occupation and perhaps your life depends on not falling off or mistepping on a ladder, so you choose to trust only your own.
Steve Ebner CPCU AIC AMIM

"With great power comes great responsibility." (Stanley Martin Lieber, Amazing Fantasy # 15 August 1962)
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