A recent article reports one Alabama man’s brush with death when the tree-stand he was using failed and left him hanging for his llfe. The accident occurred when Mike Dreadin, an experienced outdoorsman, was left hanging upside down by his feet more than 40 feet off the ground when the tree-stand he was using came loose from the tree. Dreadin was using a tubular steel tree-stand that attaches to the tree by wrapping around the tree. To climb the tree, the hunter stands up and sits down which allows the top and bottom portion of the tree-stand to bite into the tree. Dreadin failed to use his safety harness and when the stand failed he was left hanging by a 1 inch foot strap. Luckily, Dreadin was able to use his cell phone to call for help and three hours later Dreadin was lowered to safety.

Every year dozens of people are injured or killed in similar tree-stand accidents. While many of these accidents are the result of user error, many others are the result of a defective design in the tree-stand itself. Tree-stand manufacturers like other product manufacturers have a duty to safely design their products and warn against any known hazards or risks. When these manufacturers fail to safely design their products a products liability lawyer can bring a products liability lawsuit to recover damages and seek changes in the products design. The Alabama Products Liability Lawyers at Martinson & Beason have years of experience handling products liability lawsuits.

For more information on tree-stand safety visit the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.