Hurt on the job (story time)

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
Yesterday evening after I went home & took my shower, and as I was drying off I got a call - had to go back into work. A crucial machine had broke down & I'm the guy who can fix it. So, I got back in the truck and went back to work.
Some members here are familiar with industrial machine electrical panels. They typically have a disconnect handle on the door of the panel, and on the other side of the door is a dull spear that sticks out, going into a breaker. The spear is shaped like a spear so that it will guide itself into the back of the handle when you close the door. On this particular machine's panel, the spear is about 2' long and sticks out at eye level.
So, I opened up the panel, and then went to get my DMM, and was returning, when I tripped and fell into the spear, head first. Luckily I was in mid fall, angled down, so it caught me in the top of the head and not in the eyesocket. Anyways, I bounced off the spear and bobbled around off kilter a little bit and immediately blood started spewing out of the top of my head. I paced back and forth a few times, making a big mess everywhere, and then knelt down and waited for my coworker to get me some rags. Where I knelt down, and where I paced, it looked like a murder scene. Everybody rushed over and from the looks of things they were very worried. I washed my head in the sink with cold water and it stopped bleeding pretty fast. So now I have a 2" open gash on my noggin, but it doesn't hurt. I should have probably gone in and got stitches but I didn't want to. It's not that bad, and I'm sure I'll be immediately trumped, but it's my worst injury on the job so far.

So, let's hear your "injured on the job story" (there's a different thread for electrocution stories)

EDIT: picture attached
 

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chrisw1990

Joined Oct 22, 2011
551
only continuous soldering iron burns.. youd think id learn after the first time but no..
waiting for my finger prints to come back.. til then.. to the jewellers?;)
 

chrisw1990

Joined Oct 22, 2011
551
I cringe just reading your story. 2" gash is big. Go get it stitched.
Glad to hear you're ok otherwise.
2" is small enough for super glue;) i believe that was its original purpose too.. for sticking people back together in battle..
sticks me together pretty well whenever someone lets me near it...
 

GetDeviceInfo

Joined Jun 7, 2009
2,192
Many years ago during my millwright apprenticeship at a steel mill;

passed a cutting torch over my hand. Took about a year to heal, but 30 years later the skin is still wrinkled.

A fellow apprentice at the time told me of a harrowing experience he'd had, making me promise not to tell anyone, but it was so long ago; he was performing maintenance on a multi story continous steel casting machine, which was basically 4 stories of pinch rolls, without it being locked out. Someone below closed a set of rolls with rotation. Buddy's coverall leg got caught and he braced his foot on a pillow block to resist being pulled in. In slow mo, his coveralls tore all the way up to his collar, and he was about a foot away from going in, when the rolls stopped, reversed, and let him out.

A very good friend of mine who recommended me for several positions, died from falling off a 3 foot stack of pallets.

An aquaintance, Electrician, was working on top of a gantry crane without a safety harness. His cigarettes fell out of pocket and he reached to get them. That was a fatal fall of 6 stories.

A co worker died and another was badly burnt when an oil filled transformer blew up while they were working near it.

Although not an accident, shortly after I left this employer, a disgruntled employee came in and shot 3 of his co workers.

While hoisting a full ladle of molten steel up to the casting machine, the main hoist coupling sheared and it fell about 1 story. It embedded into the dirt floor and not a drop spilt, however several supervisors/managers were fired as a result.

During shutdown maintenance, a production operator was hoisting a steel plate with scissors. His load hit something, scissors slipped and the sheet fell taking off his leg below the knee.

Needless to say it was an exciting apprenticeship in a wild environment. These days I make sure I have an escape route should **** hit the fan.
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
Go get stitches or a staple and an antibiotic. If it was metal you'll probably want a tetnis booster. You don't want an infection in your head. So I'd at least get some antibiotics.
 

chrisw1990

Joined Oct 22, 2011
551
oooo these industrial accidents remind me of the time i nearly took my finger off with a circular saw? table saw.. oh ill just reach over for the next baton.. and my finger caught the blade.. luckily just got flicked away.. phew! have to say "GetDeviceInfo"'s stories sound.. nuts! if im honest!wish my placement was that exciting...
 

Thread Starter

strantor

Joined Oct 3, 2010
6,782
GetdeviceInfo - You've lived through a lot changes in practice I expect. Safety didn't always come first, as the story goes. My dad lost his arm to a conveyor before I was born, and lots of other oilfield hands in his day walked around missing digits. I've heard all sorts of horror stories, having so many older relatives who worked in the oilfield. It's a lot safer now, as there's a price to pay when someone gets hurt. I'm thankful for that, but even in 2012 you can't make things entirely idiot-proof. You can't make people (like me) not trip on flat ground.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
There is a machine maintenance guy at my work who lost an arm in an auger, they didn't have a lock out for the machine.

I have some lulu's, but they were all stupidity on my part.
 

mbohuntr

Joined Apr 6, 2009
446
Yesterday evening after I went home & took my shower, and as I was drying off I got a call - had to go back into work. A crucial machine had broke down & I'm the guy who can fix it. So, I got back in the truck and went back to work.
Some members here are familiar with industrial machine electrical panels. They typically have a disconnect handle on the door of the panel, and on the other side of the door is a dull spear that sticks out, going into a breaker. The spear is shaped like a spear so that it will guide itself into the back of the handle when you close the door. On this particular machine's panel, the spear is about 2' long and sticks out at eye level.
So, I opened up the panel, and then went to get my DMM, and was returning, when I tripped and fell into the spear, head first. Luckily I was in mid fall, angled down, so it caught me in the top of the head and not in the eyesocket. Anyways, I bounced off the spear and bobbled around off kilter a little bit and immediately blood started spewing out of the top of my head. I paced back and forth a few times, making a big mess everywhere, and then knelt down and waited for my coworker to get me some rags. Where I knelt down, and where I paced, it looked like a murder scene. Everybody rushed over and from the looks of things they were very worried. I washed my head in the sink with cold water and it stopped bleeding pretty fast. So now I have a 2" open gash on my noggin, but it doesn't hurt. I should have probably gone in and got stitches but I didn't want to. It's not that bad, and I'm sure I'll be immediately trumped, but it's my worst injury on the job so far.

So, let's hear your "injured on the job story" (there's a different thread for electrocution stories)

EDIT: picture attached
I've heard them called "stabs"... I guess it's true...
 

chrisw1990

Joined Oct 22, 2011
551
while troubleshooting one machine i nearly impaled myself on one that is in the middle of the double door enclosure. terrible design. on my panels i prefer to either use cable disconnects or where old rotary disconnects is required, use one of these:

http://epub1.rockwellautomation.com/images/web-proof-large/GL/8218.jpg

it serves dual purpose, guards against impaling and allows operation of switch while the door is open.
i wouldnt use that!! whod trust me with what is effectively a big stabby stick for one! and two, it might be big and red, but id lose it. :(
 

panic mode

Joined Oct 10, 2011
2,715
i don't understand you. this is not something you carry in your pocket, it is permanently attached to the shaft. with some 3" in diameter it is easier to spot and if you do run into it, it is much less likely to impale you than bare steel shaft 0.25"x0.25".
 

chrisw1990

Joined Oct 22, 2011
551
i don't understand you. this is not something you carry in your pocket, it is permanently attached to the shaft. with some 3" in diameter it is easier to spot and if you do run into it, it is much less likely to impale you than bare steel shaft 0.25"x0.25".
fair call.. but id still find a way..:p
 

praondevou

Joined Jul 9, 2011
2,942
I once climbed into a car bodyshell in a robot welding station to reach out for a control box located above it. Very stupid thing to do.

The edges of a raw bodyshell are sharp as knives, I cut down to the bone on fingers of one hand, and soiled everything... :D

Fortunately nobody saw me, it was after production (of course).

Strantor, you should get some stitches.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Well..I'm convinced to avoid working at steel mills!

I've done the sheet metal cuts. Fortunately the nerve to my thumb grew back...mostly.

The one I really remember is when I asked a customer to hold the hook to catch a wire coming down the wall. When the wire came down and I guided it into the hook he felt me touch the hook and hauled like he was fighting a trophy fish!

Unfortunately, he had caught my finger.

Gutted it like a trout.

I haven't asked a customer to help me since 1971.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
What do you expect? It is about making mistakes that embarrass you later. Some times it is honest ignorance, but most times it is a major boo boo where you knew better.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Good point. I make misteaks almost every day but I only remember the ones that resulted in me feeling like a fool. Stuff like turning the bolt the wrong way because I was upside-down are forgotten in seconds.
 
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