Injuries from Falling Bookshelf

[non_chieda]

Setting: "between the years 1956 and 1967" in a respectable part of London-there's some leeway RE the dates (since the year of the scenario is not given) and location ("London" is as specific as it gets), but I'm inclined to think it takes place in the early 1960s

Comments

[kdorian]

I know nothing about falling bookshelves per se, but you might try checking other heavy things falling on people, such as tipped over vending machines (potentially lethal), or collapsed walls (ditto), piles of bricks, etc.

The closest I can come from experience is having a small 'wall' of unmortared bricks fall on me as I was kneeling next to it (long story); I wasn't injured beyond bruises but I do recall that after the first couple of bricks I wasn't really aware of them individually but more as a very heavy, smothering mass that was pushing down on me.

[clocketpatch]

In university, a dorm room shelf that was improperly secured fell on me after I'd loaded it with textbooks.

Dunno if this will happen to your protagonist, but it was a really cheap bookcase in my case and all of the shelves came unattached from the weight of the books falling out. I ended up sitting on my bed with a bunch of shelves and books on my lap and the side frame kind of around me. Luckily, nothing hit me in the head, and all I ended up with were some interesting bruises.

Then I had to convince the dorm head that the book shelf was faulty and I hadn't been climbing on it. :/

[beesandbrews]

If the weight of the shelf plus books is heavy enough then standard crush injuries would apply - fractured/broken bones and crushed internal organs. If there's a mitigating factor: hands catching the weight of the shelf and partially lowering said shelf and having the books slip off the shelf onto the floor instead then the injuries would be painful but probably not lethal. Especially if the shelf was removed promptly.

I had 250 pounds of beef stick plus the dolly it was loaded on over balance and fall on me once. Slow motion hitting the driveway hurt. Being stuck under the load wasn't great fun either, but I still had the presence of mind to look up at the delivery driver and ask him if he was going to help me up any time soon. So you may have some latitude.

[lilacsigil]

There's a lot of variation possible - you could have anything from fatal head injuries to minor bruising and it would be plausible. I had a heavy bookcase fall on me once and I caught it with my hands and pushed it back up (much to my surprise), though several books fell on me and left nasty bruises on my arm and shoulder.

[greenblnktbooks]

I've never had a bookshelf fall (on me or anyone else) but I do work around heavy books shelves, and I did work in a library that used (I believe) similar shelves to what you're describing, so here's my thoughts