Tree Stands, Hunting Accidents and Who’s Responsible: A Pennsylvania Hunting Season Safety Guide
Archery deer season is underway across Pennsylvania, and rifle season isn't far behind. Hunting is part of life in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the vast majority of hunters come home safe. But the Pennsylvania Game Commission's own numbers show where the real risk is, and it's not where most people expect.
Tree stands are a bigger danger than firearms
In its 2025 report, the Game Commission recorded 13 hunting-related shooting incidents statewide, one of them fatal. It also investigated 10 elevated tree stand incidents. Three of those were fatal, and four left hunters with severe, debilitating injuries. Stand heights ranged from 12 to 35 feet.
The most common causes were equipment condition or failure, losing grip or footing, and not using a safety harness. None of the four severely injured hunters was using a fall arrest system, and two of the hunters who died were wearing harnesses but hadn't attached them to the tree.
Tree stand safety checklist
Wear a full-body harness and stay connected from the moment you leave the ground until you're back down. A lifeline or safety rope lets you stay clipped in while climbing.
Inspect your stand before every season, especially straps, cables, and ladder sections left outdoors. Replace worn straps.
Check for recalls on your stand and harness. Defective stands and harnesses are recalled more often than people think.
Use a haul line to raise and lower your bow or unloaded firearm. Never climb with it.
Tell someone where you'll be and when you'll be back, and carry a phone on your body, not in your pack.
Firearm safety reminders
The Game Commission's report found the most common cause of shooting incidents was a victim being in the line of fire, followed by a hunter being mistaken for game. Be sure of your target and what's beyond it, wear the required fluorescent orange, and know where everyone in your party is at all times.
When someone else may be responsible
Defective equipment. If a stand, strap, ladder or harness fails because of a design or manufacturing defect, the manufacturer or seller may be responsible. Keep the equipment, don't throw it out or repair it, and write down the brand and model. See Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Defective Product?
Another hunter. A hunter who carelessly causes an injury can be held responsible, and their homeowner's or other insurance may come into play.
The landowner. Pennsylvania's Recreational Use of Land and Water Act generally protects landowners who open their land to the public for hunting free of charge. That protection has limits, including when a landowner charges a fee, and it doesn't cover willful or malicious failure to warn of a dangerous condition. On private land not open to the public, or on a paid hunt or lease, different rules and any written agreement may apply.
If you or a hunting partner is hurt
Call 911 and share your GPS location from your phone.
Report shooting incidents to the Game Commission as required by law.
Preserve the equipment and take photos of the stand, tree and scene.
Get names and contact information of anyone involved or nearby.
Follow up with medical care. Falls can cause spinal and head injuries that aren't obvious right away. See Concussions and Brain Injury and Broken Bones & Fractures.
Driving to and from the woods
Dawn and dusk are peak times for deer on the road, which is also when hunters are driving. See our post on what happens if you hit a deer in Luzerne County.
Have a safe season. If you have questions after an injury, the NEPA Injury Help Center has answers to common questions, or you can request a free consultation with Joyce, Carmody & Moran.
