Apple Watch fall detector saves 92-year-old man’s life.
We have already lost count of the times Apple Watch has helped people in a multitude of situations, detecting heart problems, helping in accidents or with the new fall detection function. Now we meet again a new case, a 92-year-old man who was helped by his Apple Watch after suffering a fall down the stairs.
A farmer named Jim Salsman who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, fell off a ladder several weeks ago and fractured several bones. Being on the ground it was impossible for him to call for help or stand up trying to call someone, but luckily his Apple Watch was contacted by emergencies thanks to the fall detection function.
The Apple Watch saved his life
Jim Salsman was at his farm a few weeks ago and decided to climb a 20-foot ladder to “secure a grain bin for the pigeons.” Nevertheless, a gust of wind jerked the ladder and Salsman fell silent from considerable ground clearance.
The first thing he tried when he fell to the ground was to try to roll and crawl to his truck, but he could not do it since he was several dozen meters away. Yet he realized something, had his Apple Watch on his wrist, so he decided to invoke Siri to tell her that she had fallen and to call 911.
But what Salsman hadn’t realized was that his Apple Watch had already detected the fall and had contacted emergencies. The Apple Watch sent an alert to the Grant Volunteer Fire Department who responded that they were on their way and found Salsman a few minutes later using his Apple Watch’s GPS.
“If I didn’t have this watch, I think I would have died before someone missed me.”
Salsman was taken to the hospital and treated for several fractures, including a hip fracture. No month has passed since the accident and Jim is recovering in a rehab hospital in Nebraska, although everything has been quite difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The fall detection feature of Apple Watch is available on Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5. The feature is on by default if you are over 65, but anyone can activate it from the Watch app on the iPhone.
The best thing about fall detection is that it is smart, works automatically and calls emergency services if the person does not react before the alert that appears on your Apple Watch for one minute after the crash. It is important that you have your emergency contact information set up, as that contact will also be notified with a text message and a map of the watch’s location at the time of the crash.
