Falling off ladders and roofs is surprisingly common and can result in broken bones, brain injury, paralysis and sometimes even death -- as in the case of former Green Bay Packers football star Max McGee, who was blowing leaves off the roof of his Deephaven home when he fell and died.

More than 2 million people were treated at emergency rooms for ladder-related injuries between 1990 and 2005, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Last year, 2,036 people were treated at Minnesota hospitals for injuries from falling off ladders, said Jon Roesler, an epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health. The month with the highest number of injuries, 230, was October.

Emergency rooms begin seeing injuries from these falls as people get leaves out of gutters and off the roof, said Dr. Tim Johnson, an emergency doctor at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. More cases come in with the hanging of holiday decorations.

"Often they're standing on a ladder and reaching to hang lights," he said. "They don't want to get down and move the ladder." They lose their balance and fall. When the snow flies, injuries continue as homeowners climb onto their roofs to remove snow.

"Some of the worst injuries we see are those who actually get up on the roof to shovel off snow," Johnson said.

About half the people who fall from a height of 20 feet will be killed, according to an article published last year in Insidesurgery.com. Non-lethal injuries depend on how the patient lands. Devastating head injuries occur when the skull hits the ground. If a person lands feet-first, the injuries are typically heel, leg and hip fractures. Patients landing on the torso typically suffer spinal fractures. Internal organ injury, such as a lacerated liver or ruptured spleen, can occur regardless of how the patient lands.

The most devastating injuries are brain injuries, and neck and spine fractures, which typically result in permanent paralysis. In any case, most survivors of a fall from a ladder or a roof will have a long recovery time.

Avoiding injury

Experts advise homeowners to stay off the roof. Roofs are steep, slippery and dangerously high.

"Keeping feet on the ground is the safest course," Johnson advised. Don't worry about leaves on the roof, he added, and you don't need to go up and clean gutters that are covered.

If you need to get snow off the roof, forget the shovel or snowblower. Use a roof rake or, better yet, hire it out. Roofing companies have safety harnesses and equipment for their workers, and they use removal methods, such as high-pressure steam, that are safer for building and roofing materials.

Karen Youso • 612-673-4407