Topic: A preventable injury at work today

[kneedownnate]

Not me thankfully.  Some of you may know I'm a boat mechanic at a resort/marina.  This is our busiest weekend and all 92 houseboats were rented, all but a couple to the college kids.  This causes all kinds of chase calls, most being operator error or fault, as was this one.

Too many people on the back of the boat and the outboard motors go under water.  They don't run with water in them!  He went out to de-swamp their motors, pretty easy and routine job really.  All you usually have to do is remove the spark plugs, jump the solenoid and pump out all the water. 

There's very little room to stand on the back of the boats and you have to choose your footing wisely.  I've grown quite accustomed to straddling the motors so I'm fairly confident being back there working on them.  Not sure if he was having issues with his footing or it was just a brainfart, but he somehow got his fingers stuck between the flywheel and starter and mangled 2 pretty bad.  My boss checked toward the end of our shift and he was going into surgery to have some or most of the two fingers removed.

After they hauled him in and he was carted off in the ambulance, I got the call to go finish the job.  I hate chase calls, hate dealing with the people in general, but this is my least favorite group to deal with by far, but I had to go. 

I show up and they're sideways against the bank, so I tell them the first thing I'm going to do is get them pointed straight into the bank and have them tie up.  That's done, I get ready to work and they start warning me to be safe so I ask the one guy who appears to know what's up if he was there and saw what happened.  He was and said he was using his left hand to brace himself, put it on the flywheel then jumped the solenoid and, well, you know the rest!  Preventable, absolutely 100% preventable!  It's a shame, but his fingers got mangled because he didn't think about what he was doing.

I've had a couple incidents there over my 13 years, including falling on the gears of a large dock winch while it spun very fast (not my fault, I'd told management repeatedly that it malfunctioned and wasn't properly anchored to the ground) and wadding up a section of my arm (underneath the skin) after slipping on oil somebody left in my path, but none that neglegent.  Falling on the winch could have been prevented if management had listened, but wadding up my arm could have been avoided if I'd paid a little more attention, if my coworkers had been more responsible or if I'd simply made the college kids move all their crap so I could have had a straighter path.  But his could have been avoided if he'd simply paid attention to what he was doing.

Not to sound mean, but he'd still have his fingers if he were more attentive!  He'll also be missing a lot of work and we'll now be 3 men down.

[Stocker]

Ouch, too bad he got hurt but I'm glad it was not you!  And as if you weren't short-handed enough already.  I wondered if you'd be as busy this year, with the economy a bit in tatters...  Hmmm, where was I?  Oh yeah, poor guy, that must have really hurt!  Just like takin' rabbit pellets though, maybe he is smarter now.  Wonder if he's coming back eventually, or if BB will be hiring again...

[kneedownnate [OP]]

I'm sure it hurt, but I think shock hadn't passed and one of the kids wrapped his hand with clean rags and ice while he radioed the other boat that my boss was on.  He lives above shingletown and said it was a losing venture for him to come to work 5 days a week, so I don't know how it'll hit him missing the next ?? weeks?

Yea, it's definitely gonna put the screws to us a little more!  Rentals are waaaay down though, so it won't hit us as bad as it would have a couple years ago.  I'm really going to push my boss to hire back one of our old mechanics, even if it's only temporary.  He's one of the best chase call mechanics we've had, just a little spastic at times.  Plus he rides bicycles all the time and is constantly covered in scabs all the time.  Maybe that's why we get along so well 

I'm sure we'll find out more throughout the week on his condition, but I know they want to take statements from the kids on the boat to cover their asses.  Not to say they won't cover his medical expenses, because I know they will, but they just want to be prepared in case of the inevitable.

[Rockcrawlintoy]

i wonder if that was my roommates boat that he was on?

[kneedownnate [OP]]

Were your roommates on a rental houseboat?  Well, I guess they'd still be on it since most are turning in tomorrow.  I actually have to go in 4 hours early tomorrow    but I'll be getting off whenever the rush is over so that's a plus!

[Rockcrawlintoy]

Were your roommates on a rental houseboat?  Well, I guess they'd still be on it since most are turning in tomorrow.  I actually have to go in 4 hours early tomorrow    but I'll be getting off whenever the rush is over so that's a plus!

ill find out tomorrow

[BLACKDOG]

sucks when like that happens.  I'd say 90% of our trauma calls (or more) are caused by people making stupid mistakes, or not paying attention to what they are doing. 

I wasn't on this call, but just recently we had a guy who was mowing, and it got jammed up.  Well, he had TIED the emergency lever to the handle (he told the guys that it hurt his hands to hold it for so long)  and without thinking, bent down and lifted up the mower by sticking his fingers under the edge   Lost 3 fingers, AND did some damage to his eyes with all the debris coming out when he lifted it up. 

Hope your guy gets better quick, and they didn't have to take too much off his hand   

[Rocksurfer]

Ouch!! Sure glad I've still got all mine, had a couple close calls like at Big Bear with the Mammoth's but haven't lost one yet.

[79coyotefrg]

sounds like he was looking at   and not what he was doing

[DTB]

sounds like he was looking at   and not what he was doing

Guess we can let it slide this one time

[kneedownnate [OP]]

Sounds like they were able to salvage and sew up one finger, he's losing atleast half his ring finger and I didn't hear if his pinky was hurt or not.

If he saw what I saw, he may have noticed the girl in the bikini who needed a re-shave    Oh yea, on our way back from another call we saw a ski boat we thought was abandon in the middle of the lake, then noticed a dude's ass cheeks kept popping up.  I'll let you figure out what was going on    I wish they'd have switched positions though 

[79coyotefrg]