Big Game tree stands

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Death

   Made Nov 12, 2020 · , sent to the company Dec 22, 2020 · , published by CPSC Jan 8, 2021

   The product, in the report: treestand

   (11/7/2020) The consumer reported that his brother fell from the tree stand and broke his neck. He was killed instantly.

   The consumer and his brother were out hunting. He received a text message from his brother telling him that he would meet him at the truck.

   The consumer’s brother’s body was found a day and a half later. He was advised that as his brother was climbing down from the tree, the cable on the tree stand broke. The drop was about 20 to 25 feet. When they found his body he was still partially in the tree stand.

   The Cherokee County coroner has the tree stand.

   Model

   Cobalt CL100-A

   Bought from

   Dunhams, North Carolina

   Where

   Jonesville, South Carolina: Other

   Who was involved

   Age 52, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Other Relative

   As this report names them

   Brand Big Game, made or sold by Outdoor Technology Group, LLC

2. Hospital admission

   Made Jun 29, 2017 · , sent to the company Aug 16, 2017 · , published by CPSC Aug 30, 2017

   The product, in the report: the product is a two piece climbing tree stand, used for hunting.

   after a night of sitting in a tree hunting, the shooting hours had ended. as I began my descent, I put my weight on the upper part of the stand, to lower the standing platform with my feet, and the wire strap that secures the upper portion of the climbing stand gave way, and I fell straight backwards, and about 20 feet down, severely injuring my head and face.

   Model

   CL050 (the outlook)

   Bought from

   Menards

   Bought

   Aug 20, 2014, about then

   Where

   sheboygan, Wisconsin: Unspecified

   Who was involved

   Age 34, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand big game tree stands, made or sold by Outdoor Technology Group, LLC

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Hospital Admission

3. Emergency room

   Made Jul 25, 2016 · , sent to the company Aug 4, 2016 · , published by CPSC Aug 25, 2016

   The product, in the report: 2 person ladder treestand Model Number: LS4850

   On Mar 26th 2016 myself and my friend [REDACTED] were moving my Big Game Treestand, Guardian XL model ladder stand, to a better ridgetop location on my property in Bedford, VA 24523. [REDACTED] went up to unhook the ratchet strap to the stand like we have both done on multiple occasions over the last 20+ years. The stand had been in place since late Aug 14 (purchased new) when I put the stand up with another friend for my son to take his first hunt out of on VA youth day 2014. When the ratchet strap broke free for [REDACTED] I felt the stand move (I was holding the ladder section below) and I saw my friend falling head first along the tree!! Thank the Lord he rolled at the last second and landed flat on his back instead of his head. It was a miracle that he was not injured more than he was and he is alive today without permanent injuries. We want to inform as many as we can about what caused this accident. It wasn’t because [REDACTED]loss his balance and fell or because he stepped off the stand’s platform. It wasn’t because he was careless or not watching what he was doing and fell. No, he was not wearing a safety harness at the time because the last thing we both would have thought was that the stand’s structural integrity would have failed the way it did.A safety harness would have not prevented what occurred with this tree stand, When the ratchet strap broke free the whole upper platform bent inward and to the left towards the tree that it was attached to. [REDACTED] was kneeling on the foot platform leaning to the left as that was the side that the ratchet strap buckle was located. When this occurred it caused him to go upside down as he went with the platform and then he fell head first out of the stand. It all happened in a split second!!! This stand is supposed to be rated for 500 pounds I believe. The stand’s structural integrity or the strength of it’s metal failed for reasons unknown. I transported [REDACTED] to the Bedford Memorial Hospital ER where he was seen and treated for his injuries. He caught his leg on a small metal shelf when he fell that supports the gun rest resulting in the tearing of his jeans and causing several lacerations on his thigh. He was also having back and neck pain. Again, it was a miracle he wasn’t hurt severely. It could have been me loosening that ratchet strap that day and my fall could have ended much differently that his. I’m a much bigger guy than he is. I checked on the internet for any other accidents like this but couldn’t find anything. We wanted to notify the manufacturer and let them know of the accident so they could do an investigation, inspect what happened, and decide what kind of action needed to be done so this did not happen to anyone else. For all we know this could have been an isolated freak accident! I then noticed that when I looked on their website at the treestands the new model of the Guardian XL had additional support braces (see picture below taken in [REDACTED] during Apr 2016, Hampton, VA) that connected the upper platform to the ladder section. These new braces would have prevented (in my opinion) the upper platform from ever folding in, collapsing in, failing, etc like my stand did resulting in [REDACTED] fall. I told [REDACTED] while in the hospital maybe that Big Game Treestands was already aware of the issue and that’s why they had added the new braces. We were both sure that they would be very interested to hear what happened to us. That same week I sent an email to Big Game Treestands ?#?BGTS? and notified them of the accident and sent pictures as posted below. I didn’t hear anything for days until I got a call from a lawyer from Clarke Hill PLC out of MI. I was told that they represented Big Game Treestands, I had to recount the details of the day the accident happened and I was quizzed on my experience with putting up and taking down treestands. I guess they needed to determine my skill level to see if maybe I was at fault for this accident or I knew what the heck I was doing and talking about. I was last asked what I was looking for from Big Game Treestands and I explained that this was not a law suit waiting to happen or a get rich scheme. We ([REDACTED]and I) just wanted them to look into this so no one else got hurt from a similar accident with this model stand. If they needed to make a recall then so be it. This accident could end much differently if it happened to someone else!! I also asked that [REDACTED]’s ER bill be covered and that my treestand be replaced with one of the newer models since it was only 1.5 years old. I thought this was a simple request and really thought that a large & well known company like Big Game Treestands would look into this immediately and make things right. They already had a recall on 3 models of their climbing stands where someone had fell due to a product failure and they sure didn’t need anymore bad press. This company also sponsors a lot of celebrity hunters on TV. After telling the attorney what our request was even he sounded happy and agreed it was a simple request and that he would share everything with his client. It wasn’t like we were trying to sue them!!! The attorney asked for more pictures and some other information which I cooperated with immediately. I wanted this to move forward as fast as possible. Well....after 2 whole weeks I hadn’t heard a word. I contacted the attorney again and he said he would get with his client and get back with me. Another whole week went by and I hadn’t heard anything from the attorney or Big Game Treestands. I then emailed the attorney again along with Big Game Treestands expressing my disappointment in their lack of response. This was 3 additional weeks that someone else could have been hurt putting up or taking down one of their stands. A lot of hunters will reposition their stands in the spring before green up so the deer can get used to them and they are set for fall. I felt that it was pure negligence on their part for not responding or doing anything with the stands as more lives could have been put in danger. I expressed if I did not hear something within 48 hours that [REDACTED] and I would go public with the accident and their lack of response for their customers safety and the product liability of this treestand would no longer be a secret. Within 48 hours I received a call from the attorney stating that once again he would get with his client. I’m thinking.....hasn’t he already done this or is this some tactic to stall and see if I’m serious or not?? Has he contacted them at all.....he is playing games?? I’m getting fed up!! The following day I get another call stating that Big Game Treestands is going to send a 3rd party person down to my home in VA to examine the treestand in question and possibly examine the accident location as well. This person would fly in to an airport nearest me which I told them would be Lynchburg or Roanoke. I was told I would hear something soon so everyone could coordinate. I was happy to hear this and figured finally they see that we are serious and demand something to be done for the safety of others. Well.....that call was over 2.5 months ago. I have heard nothing from anyone!! Once again I reach out to the attorney as all correspondence is supposed to go through him. I asked him for an update and I get the same old response “I’ll check with my client and get back with you”. And...guess what the response was?? Nada! No response at all. So...we are done with them and I am officially done with Big Game Treestands! Not once has anyone from Big Game Treestands reached out to either one of us (yes they have our contact info) to ask what happened, say sorry for the accident, let’s look into this right away to see if it’s a product/material failure/liability, etc!! No questions or sense of care at all for their customer or [REDACTED] who fell 15 feet due to their treestand buckling up like superman went at it. I even took one of my single man ladder stands at the house and tried bending the platform inward like what happened to this one and I could not get it to budge! There’s no way this should have happened to this stand like it did and I’m not sure if it a defect in the design, bad metal from China or somewhere, heck maybe it’s made in China with recycled metal from beer cans who knows anymore. So people.....please get the word out and share with your friends who hunt out of these ladder stands. Let them know of the danger so it doesn’t potentially happen to them. Let them know how Big Game Treestands answers the concerns of their customers and how it cares if you get into an accident with one of their products due to product liability that is not your fault!!! I would not want them as a sponsor that’s for sure. The fact is that neither [REDACTED] nor I should have ever been worried that this could have happened to us! Even if he was wearing a safety harness the accident would have still happened and the product is still to blame because it integrity failed!! I have never had a treestand accident or failure until now and I have been hunting since I was a teenager when Baker climbing stands were popular and yes I owned one. People know that I have been hunting for many years and can contest that I know what I am doing and I am very safety conscious. [REDACTED] and I had a sense of trust in these ladder stands because of using them over the years with no issues or concerns. They give you a different sense of safety and trust that you don’t get from a climbing stand, a hang on stand, or a fixed stand made from lumber. That trust is gone and my buddy now has a fear of them that he didn’t have before. You just don’t realize how this affects you mentally, emotionally, physically, or how it affects your family members who love you! We had just moved another ladder stand that same day before the accident occurred and I was the one that went up and unhooked it. It could have been me that fell from this stand....whether that day or the next time I decided to move it. We don’t want this to happen to anyone else and since Big Game Treestands nor their attorneys want you to know we are sharing it ourselves now. If you have any questions please reach out to me. Again, I encourage you to share and educate fellow hunters. Doesn’t it make you curious why now all of a sudden they have those new support braces?? I wouldn’t buy one without them that’s for sure. If they knew of this potential issue and didn’t alert their customers then shame on them! They should be sued!! I thank God for watching after my friend [REDACTED] that day (the day before Easter too). Because of his mercy we can both share what happened with others.

   Model

   Guardian XL

   UPC

   097973001578

   Bought from

   Gander Mountain

   Bought

   Aug 23, 2014

   Where

   Bedford, Virginia: Farm/Ranch

   Who was involved

   Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Friend / Neighbor / Co-worker

   As this report names them

   Brand Big Game Treestand, made or sold by Outdoor Technology Group, LLC

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources