Boy survives 6m fall from scaffolding

It has emerged that a young schoolboy has made a miraculous recovery following a horrifying 6m fall from scaffolding, back in May 2017.

Kate Crowley, mother of 13-year-old Callum, was cooking at her home in Cwmbran on 6^th May last year when her son’s friend came to her extremely distressed and told her that Callum had had a fall. However, the sheer extent of the accident was only visible once Kate rushed to where Callum lay on the ground, under the scaffolding.

A woman who had been passing by the scene of the accident, described to Kate the height at which Callum had fallen, from the very top of the scaffolding which stood at around 20 feet.

After being rushed to hospital, doctors at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport revealed the severity of injuries that Callum had sustained from his fall, which included, bleeding on the brain, a punctured lung, internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen.

An eight-hour surgery saw surgeons insert 12 screw bolts into Callum’s spine as well as two rods. In the months that followed, Callum had an additional surgery to deal with inflammation on his spine as well as extensive physiotherapy. Four months after the accident Callum took his first steps, and in February he was able to return to school.

Kate has described Callum’s recovery as a ‘miracle’ due to the severity of the injuries he had sustained from this horrifying fall.

Falls from scaffolding at any height can be fatal, and it’s nothing short of miraculous that Callum has recovered so well. Those working on scaffolding day to day are at inherent risk of falling, and it is our mission here at Simian Risk to train scaffolders on best practice techniques when it comes to working at height, as well as their responsibilities in protecting the public when scaffolding has been erected.

Find out more about our scaffolding training courses and our scaffolding consultancy services to discover how your scaffolding business could be operating much more safely at height.