Don't gamble on “a few days lying down and I'll be fine” after a fall from a height: most people who reach a trauma ICU survive, but the cost is counted in years

Cost

Free. Just look at this bill first.

What you get

A trauma ICU (intensive care unit) in southern Xinjiang compiled figures. From April 2020 to July 2024 it admitted 289 falls from a height. The average age was 40.3. The median fall height was 3 meters; 26.6% fell from 5 meters or more and 11.4% from 10 meters or more. The median injury severity score (ISS) was 24, and the higher this score, the more severe the injury; 63.3% of people had an ISS above 20. 47.1% had injuries in 3 or more regions and 18.3% in 4 or more. 36% needed a ventilator (mechanical ventilation), with a median of 103.5 hours on it. The median ICU stay was 8 days, the shortest 1 day and the longest 132 days. In-hospital or 30-day mortality was 5.5% (16/289). A trauma center in Germany admitted 84 patients with multiple injuries and an ISS of 25 or more; multiple injuries means several body regions hurt at the same time. The share who returned to work during follow-up was 58%. Age, length of ICU treatment and self-rated health were predictors. In 2024 the average cost per hospital stay nationwide (the average spent per admission) was 9870.0 CNY, down 4.3% from the year before at current prices. Total national health spending that year was 9.08955 trillion CNY (90895.5亿), of which out-of-pocket spending was 2.50075 trillion CNY (25007.5亿), or 27.5%.

Notes

Why grade B: the fall group comes from one hospital's review of old records and does not separate accidents from self-harm. The return-to-work group has only 84 people, and they are in Germany. Neither group can be taken as “what happens to a person after jumping from a building.” The average cost per stay is an average across all hospital stays nationwide, not the cost of fall injuries; it is cited only to give a floor that can be checked. The original gives only the distribution of heights for this group, so no link between height and outcome is written here. For the pressure sores to watch most closely during long bed rest, see §17.8. For deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, see §13.11 (one leg suddenly swells). For what to do when the thought comes up, see §1.32. For the consequences of poisoning, see §1.33 (don't treat being “saved” as a safety net). What follows is the author's own experience: after falling from a fourth floor, he thought beforehand it would be “ten-odd days and I'll be fine,” but actually spent a year in the hospital, had surgery in four places, got steel plates, couldn't turn over or sit up on his own for half a year, and the family borrowed money because of it.

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. Chen Y, Li W, Wang X, Zhong Q, Abudurexiti A, Qiu Q, Li J, Luo J (2025). Clinical features and prognostic predictors for patients admitted to trauma intensive care unit due to fall from height in South Xinjiang. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 18, 142. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-025-00959-4
2. Simmel S, Wurm S, Drisch S, Woltmann A, Coenen M (2020). Prädiktion der Rückkehr zur Arbeit nach Polytrauma bei Patienten mit einem ISS von mindestens 25. Die Rehabilitation, 59(2), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0977-6853
3. 国家卫生健康委 (2025). 2024 年我国卫生健康事业发展统计公报解读. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/202512/content_7050025.htm

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 1, tip 34. This section is about health and medicines. It is general information, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis or prescription. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer