Work Related Injuries - Share Your Interesting Stories

[Provincial]

All you "hero" types that keep on working wounded remind me of picking up salmon from a beach in Alaska. My avatar shows the plane and beach. The fish were in bean totes hauled around by surplus Deuce-and-a-Half trucks.

One day when we picked up a load the foreman wasn't hovering over the operation like normal. I asked where he was and the helper said he was over in one of the trucks, and wasn't feeling well because he had been hit in the head with a chain that broke while pulling out a stuck truck. I walked over to say hello, and noticed that even though it was broad daylight, his eyes were dialated. I asked if he had a headache other than where he was hit, and he said yes.

I demanded that he get in the plane and go to the clinic in Naknek because I was sure he had a concussion. He refused to go, saying that he had to keep an eye on the operation. I finally got his workers to insist that he go, and got him on the plane. An hour later, he was in the clinic, and they put him on the next flight to Anchorage, where he was treated for a severe concussion. The nurse told me later that he would not have survived had we not drug him in for treatment.

Don't try to be a hero when level heads around you are seriously concerned.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I was doing some rescue training with a new set of team members just rotating in. We still had the old azz MH- 53 echoes, and these are really big and slow and hard to work around. I'm the last guy off the ramp and am running strait act while the crew chief is watching to make sure I am well clear. Apparently we misjudged my distance and the pilots pulled up and took off, the down draft from the rotor wash picked me up and through me about 60 yards. I was literally running through the air, it was all good until I lost lift and hit the ground. I hit feet first, but my right knee was locked and I shattered both bones in my lower leg! Spent 6 months recovering and in therapy for that one! The best part of that was that's how I met my lovely bride, she was doing her residency at the NATO hospital where I was sent, and the rest is history!!!

 

[Joe13]

We started down this line in another thread, but @bbbass thought a new thread might be in order, and I agree. Feel free to share your interesting, weird, funny and lessons-learned stories of on-the-job or even at home injuries.

Many here know I'm an electrician, though I put the tools down to work in the office some time ago. I had my share of injuries, thankfully none of them any more serious than some stitches or buddy splints couldn't fix. Here are a few:

I've got a lovely scar on my hand where I came into contact with a back-fed/live neutral at 277v, in my natural reflex to get away from that 'tingly sensation' I pulled my hand back and right into a ceiling wire, that went through my hand, then tore out the side leaving a nice wound. Not my best day, but I butterflied it and went back to work. That's just how we do

Another incident involved me running a scissor lift about 30' up into a ceiling in an industrial plant under construction. One of the rules is that you always clear the space above you to avoid pinch points. I thought I had cleared everything and was running the lift up when suddenly I hear a "pop", see a bright flash of white light and feel pain in my neck - I had run myself straight up into a 1/2" threaded rod, the flash of light was my spine getting a quick pinch. I felt that one for days, but kept working in the tradition of a good construction worker.

Last one for now was a large transformer I needed to do some terminations on. I had to remove the cover to get to the connections. This was a large transformer with a large sheet metal cover, about 5'x5', fairly heavy. As I would normally do, while removing all the screws that hold it on, I would keep a punch awl or two to stick in the screw holes to hold it in place while I remove the screws. Well, one of them slipped out on me and dropped that sheet metal on my foot - and I wasn't wearing steel toed boots at the time, broke my toe and created a huge hematoma under the nail. The ED had to drill a hole in the nail to let the building pool of blood out - quite painful. I was unable to wear regular work boots for about 2 weeks after that, though I did return to work the next day.

Let's hear some of your stories.

Workers Comp sucks - the stories boring. I had a ladder break on me and ended up landing on my hip nd got bursitis.

Went off WC because I was getting minimum wage while still doing my normal work and sucked it up for the next year.

Thankfully I was 22 and mostly healed to normallity

 

[HB of CJ]

What can we say about the American Education System. A true paranoid might spout off that our educational system has been infiltrated and taken over by the Commies. Much later in history, some might think there was some substance to those wild claims. Maybe true.

Our High School was strange. Auto Shop One, (1) was optional and coed. The chicks looked so cool in their tailored TIGHT coveralls. A neat cool easy place to make dates. Even I succeeded. Friday sock hop in the gym. But the down side was we had to watch and later test about ...

... the required black and white and later color WW2 and later safety films. Split rim disasters. Dress ties caught in various machinery. Hard hat deep sea diver disasters. Why we had to watch those is still a mystery. Lot of guys and girls barfed up. Industrial injuries.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

i was 18 and my old works policy was "mandatory to wear gloves and PPE at all times" also, the policy was "read operating manual for any power equipment, abide and understand all safety precautions" well, in the manual for a table saw it specifically says not to wear gloves. i brought this to my bosses attention she said "you HAVE to wear gloves" next thing i know the tip of my thumb and my middle finger are hanging and also my index and ring finger are cut to the bone from wearing gloves that got sucked into the saw. YES, im an idiot for not using a push stick but i have used a table saw 100s of times before and never had a problem... never wearing gloves.

i remember wrapping a rope tight around my arm then laying down and putting my feet up so i didnt pass out, my boss showed up, found me laying there and then took me to the hospital in albany.

long story short:
i am lucky, they saved my hand. i still have all my fingers, 4 scars and a numb feeling in my middle finger. its also missing part of the knuckle.

for a couple years i couldnt feel the top of my thumb. eventually, i regained feeling.

i have full function and work with my hands every day. if i get a cut or hang nail on my middle finger, my entire arm hurts from nerve damage.

got paid workers comp and disability.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I've had many minor injuries from cuts, bruises, stuff getting into my eyes to broken toes from manhole lids...
The career ending back injury came when I tried to lift one side of a telephone cable reel just a 1/2" to get it in the groove on a reel trailer. I lifted, pushed, felt a twinge & heard a POP. Game over & my union threw me under the bus in the process!!!
It took 5 years to settle the claim & here I sit.

If you work for a large company and you get injured you are just a number & expendable...

 

[etrain16]

What can we say about the American Education System. A true paranoid might spout off that our educational system has been infiltrated and taken over by the Commies. Much later in history, some might think there was some substance to those wild claims. Maybe true.

Our High School was strange. Auto Shop One, (1) was optional and coed. The chicks looked so cool in their tailored TIGHT coveralls. A neat cool easy place to make dates. Even I succeeded. Friday sock hop in the gym. But the down side was we had to watch and later test about ...

... the required black and white and later color WW2 and later safety films. Split rim disasters. Dress ties caught in various machinery. Hard hat deep sea diver disasters. Why we had to watch those is still a mystery. Lot of guys and girls barfed up. Industrial injuries.

I've seen my fair share of those types of videos. Those types of videos are still commonly used for safety training, since some folks just don't seem to get the message no matter what you do. Anyone who comes to work for our company goes through a new-hire orientation, part of which includes about a 5 minute video of an electrician (not one from our company) who was involved in a serious arc-flash incident - the type of thing that could happen to any of us in the field. Basically a 480V panel exploded with him working in the panel (as I recall a tool went phase to phase on the bus bars). 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 90% of his body, yet he somehow survived. The video goes through the incident, shows some graphic photos of his injuries and runs through his very long and painful recovery. It's not fun to watch, but it makes a point about why we talk so much about safety, safety equipment and safety processes - at the end of the day, we all want to go home to our families, intact and alive.

I think part of the problem is that people don't see these types of accidents like they used to. The industry is safer than ever, so some folks just seem to get complacent. Our company though did have an arc-flash incident occur in the past months, with someone that wasn't wearing all the proper safety gear - he got really lucky and only suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns over a small part of his body - he'll make a full recovery, thankfully, and he and his co-workers got a stark reminder of how dangerous our work can be.

 

[etrain16]

i was 18 and my old works policy was "mandatory to wear gloves and PPE at all times" also, the policy was "read operating manual for any power equipment, abide and understand all safety precautions" well, in the manual for a table saw it specifically says not to wear gloves. i brought this to my bosses attention she said "you HAVE to wear gloves" next thing i know the tip of my thumb and my middle finger are hanging and also my index and ring finger are cut to the bone from wearing gloves that got sucked into the saw. YES, im an idiot for not using a push stick but i have used a table saw 100s of times before and never had a problem... never wearing gloves.

i remember wrapping a rope tight around my arm then laying down and putting my feet up so i didnt pass out, my boss showed up, found me laying there and then took me to the hospital in albany.

long story short:
i am lucky, they saved my hand. i still have all my fingers, 4 scars and a numb feeling in my middle finger. its also missing part of the knuckle.

for a couple years i couldnt feel the top of my thumb. eventually, i regained feeling.

i have full function and work with my hands every day. if i get a cut or hang nail on my middle finger, my entire arm hurts from nerve damage.

got paid workers comp and disability.

Table saws still make me nervous to this day. I'm good with other power tools, but that's one I tend to avoid, just seen too many injuries with them. A good friend lost 2 fingers to the first knuckle on one when his kids came up behind him in the garage and he turned to see what they were doing and pushed his hand right into the blade.

My table saw story left me with only a minor injury - a long, shallow cut on my hand and forearm, but could have been deadly. I was in Jr. High shop class and using the table saw for the 1st time. Got the orientation and sign-off by the instructor then went to work. I was cutting through a board, didn't have a push stick (they didn't have them for some reason), and the blade hit a knot in the wood - the block of wood shot backward, under my hand/arm and flew about 20 feet and hit a concrete wall, taking out a small chunk in the process. Where it could have been deadly was that the teacher's office was about 12" to the left of where it hit - and he was sitting at his desk. That chunk of wood was at the perfect elevation to hit him in the head, probably would have killed him. His response? He looked up at me from his desk as if this happens all the time and just gave me that "you're a dipsh!t" look, and went back to work.

 

[11Charlie]

If you work for a large company and you get injured you are just a number & expendable...

Which is complete and udder bull crap if you ask me. We take care of them they should take care of you.

 

[11Charlie]

Not a member of an official military unit but exposed to same fun injury class.
Lots of little sprains, strains, cuts, bruises, "contusions", heat exhaustion and assorted other industry norms.

Luckily only profiled brokedick twice. Neither time was much fun.

2012, a 7.62 through the left knee. Tore it up good, still bothers me.
A different time in a different place I was hit in the back by, and buried under an exploding Jersey barrier. Was an expectant for three weeks. Ever since, I require twice the R&R (heavy on the latter) after an outing. Maybe it's injury related, maybe it's age related. I'm sticking with injury, I'm not ready to acknowledge the whole age issue.

Sorry, "interesting stories" to be provided over hard liquor only.

Stay safe, guys.

Man we are gonna break out the whiskey one night. I wanna hear the rest of the story. How in gods name did you get a 7.62 to the knee?

 

[Medic!]

I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing this stuff.

Yep. I got nothin.

 

[HB of CJ]

Yep. Lots of times one must. But there are still the occasional bad dreams. I recall the return to the House, (fire station) after a particularly complete shotgun suicide. The ladder truck Engineer sat at the kitchen table with the rest of us.

He raised up his boot leg over his knee. Then he pulled out his big folder knife and used the tip to pry skull fragments out of the sole. I was the cook. Pork Chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots and a tossed green salad. Pie and ice cream for dessert.

Strange thing is we all laughed at Morgan for pulling out the bone fragments at the table while we ate. Funny at the time. I suppose nowadays we would have had counseling for our mental trauma. I still have dreams about that incident today.

 

[uscsoldier]

I got a part-time summer job working at a zoo when I was in high school. I did a lot of janitorial work, one of the animal keepers liked the way I worked and started having me help them clean up animal cages and do a little handiwork with them. One day while we were cleaning the Tiger exhibit, some idiot thought it would be funny to play a practical joke on me. The tigers were locked in their individual enclosures, behind big metal bar gates. He opened one of the metal gates that did not have a tiger in it and then did something to still up one of the Tigers in the enclosure next to the gate that was opened. I broke out in a dead sprint run for the exit and hit my head on a bar that was about 5 1/2 feet up and closelined myself, and was knocked unconscious.

 

[x2ndxall]

I found a severed head still attached to the shoulders. Human. Male. That was about all one could tell. Non responsive.

 

[WAYNO]

I worked many years as an industrial pipe fitter/plumber/sprinkler fitter. When I retired 2 years ago I had 39 years in the same place. So I've seen lots of injuries, and have experienced a few of my own.

Even prior to that...I worked in food service at providence Hospital all thru high school. We had a machine that heated steel "pellets", maybe 5" in diameter, to be placed under the patients dinner plate to keep the food warm. The machine would sometimes jam, and we'd have to run the machine backward to un-jam the pellets. One time, one of these very hot pellets rolled out and landed on my forearm. Burnt the bejeezus out of my arm. I carried a large scar most of my life, but now at 64, the natural cycles of exfoliation have erased most of the scar.

Then in the Army, many people might not consider it a work related accident, but I do...I was close to my ETS, (separation date), and during a run, I twisted my ankle really bad. The Army doctors wanted to do some surgical repair, but I would have to extend my ETS date. That's not a kind offer to a short timer of the Vietnam era, so I refused the surgery. They said the VA would take care of me and this issue once I got out. WRONG.

Thru many years, this ankle has given me fits. For no reason at all, it sprains. I filed a claim, one of two, with the VA, and they declined any record of the injury. I showed them a photo of me, in uniform, IN A CAST. Their simple answer was in spite of the photo, there was no record of the accident. The records fire in St Louis many years ago erased a lot of Vet's records and has saved the government a lot of money.

Then, as a welder one time when I was on strike from my regular job, I worked for Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife. I was hired to complete some OSHA safety requirements at the fish ladder at Willamette Falls. I welded 6000 pounds of kick rails, from one end to the other on the ladders. Of course, this was all at ground level, so all the welding was done on my knees, on steel grating and/or concrete. When the job was done, my knees just kept hurting. Seems I tore the meniscus in both knees. Of course workmans comp fought me, but with the help of a lawyer, they paid for surgeries on both knees.

Then back to my regular job...There was a broken pipe at the ceiling in a basement, flooding everything. I was the pipefitter on shift, so I had to climb up a ladder to shut a valve. The ladder was not long enough, but there was some large cribbing timber in the area. I moved one of these timbers under the ladder to give me a little extra reach. While adjusting the timber to be where I needed it, I kicked it sideways with my foot. Crack! Blew my knee again. Repaired surgically, again, after a lengthy fight with workmans comp. And remember, each time meniscus is repaired, some of it is removed, and is very cumulative. Also important here, is, so far, none of my injuries were considered lost time, as the state and the company alter days off to make sure it was your days off during the surgery and recovery. Then back to work immediately, doing nothing, just so it's not considered a lost time injury.

Then, at 25-years at the mill, I fell thru a rotten steel-grating. Twisted my knee really good, and tore some more meniscus. This one was my first lost time injury. Another surgery, and another fight with workmans comp to approve the surgery. And each time the surgeries are postponed, the damage gets worse while waiting approval for the surgery. In each case, the doctor has said it would have been an easier surgery, six months ago.

And working as a pipefitter another 15 years, with trashed knees, I finally had a total knee replacement. A miserable experience, with less than satisfactory results. I'm approved to have the other knee replaced, but as bad as the first surgery turned out, I've decided to wait as long as I possibly can, for the second replacement.

Working in heavy construction or heavy industry, yep, the pay was always very good. But it's a trade off. I sold my body and my health to support my family. Such is life, and I just might do it again if I had to re-choose.

In addition to many back injuries, which a feller just learns to live with, I had multiple eye injuries. Fabricating steel, there are metal fragments flying everywhere. I was always very good at wearing eye protection, but sometimes the metal slivers found their way to my eyes anyway. Fortunately the doctor was able to remove the fragments each time, but he always commented that under a scope, my eyes looked like craters of the moon from all the injuries.

Are ya bored yet? But, you asked.

WAYNO.

 

[HB of CJ]

Later after I left the fire service and became an emergency room registered male nurse, we had a local gang banger walk in to the ER dripping blood. He had been shot about 8 times in the upper torso. Most were through and through. The ER MD decide via exam and x rays that the gun was probably a .22rf. Nothing vital hit. He spent 2 days on the floor for observation then walked out under his own power. Amazing. Still had a couple slugs in his chest. The SX MD decided to leave them in.

Later we had another walk in. Looked like a sword fight gone bad either with a Katana or Machete. He looked like a walking talking anatomy lesson. Some of the slashes were left open and irrigated daily. It is amazing what the human body can take. The huge gapping cuts slowly closed up with the granulation healing process. No sutures. Left amazing scars.

All long ago and far away now. Just glad to be here.

 

[UserNameInUse]

I got a part-time summer job working at a zoo ...

I nominate this for best story so far.

One of my passions is working with factory automation so it is what it is. It's just about impossible to troubleshoot problems without defeating safety interlocks. After a while you get complacent, you get hurt, and you are more careful for a while.

When you are right handed you tend to injure your left hand. Mine still works fine but it is pretty scarred up. I have one finger where a nerve was severed and re-attached. I get odd signals like pain when I should be feeling texture.

 

[WAYNO]

In addition to my list of injuries above...

Often I'd find my self at the top of ladder, hanging my whole body weight from a 24" pipe wrench loosening a pipe fitting. One time I remember specifically hurting a shoulder in the process. Don't even remember which shoulder. Saw the doctor, but he figured it was a soft tissue injury that would heal itself. It did, after a year. Then after I retired, I was doing some volunteer work, not particularly heavy work, but because I can no longer kneel, I was supporting my weight on the ground with my hand, when whack! Something came apart in my shoulder. I tore off the rotator cuff. Had it reattached, and my biceps reattached also. I figure maybe it was the residual damage of my strained shoulder some years earlier.

This shoulder surgery was just 6 months ago. I'm still paying the price for my career.

WAYNO.

 

[etrain16]

I worked many years as an industrial pipe fitter/plumber/sprinkler fitter. When I retired 2 years ago I had 39 years in the same place. So I've seen lots of injuries, and have experienced a few of my own.

Even prior to that...I worked in food service at providence Hospital all thru high school. We had a machine that heated steel "pellets", maybe 5" in diameter, to be placed under the patients dinner plate to keep the food warm. The machine would sometimes jam, and we'd have to run the machine backward to un-jam the pellets. One time, one of these very hot pellets rolled out and landed on my forearm. Burnt the bejeezus out of my arm. I carried a large scar most of my life, but now at 64, the natural cycles of exfoliation have erased most of the scar.

Then in the Army, many people might not consider it a work related accident, but I do...I was close to my ETS, (separation date), and during a run, I twisted my ankle really bad. The Army doctors wanted to do some surgical repair, but I would have to extend my ETS date. That's not a kind offer to a short timer of the Vietnam era, so I refused the surgery. They said the VA would take care of me and this issue once I got out. WRONG.

Thru many years, this ankle has given me fits. For no reason at all, it sprains. I filed a claim, one of two, with the VA, and they declined any record of the injury. I showed them a photo of me, in uniform, IN A Cast. Their simple answer was in spite of the photo, there was no record of the accident. The records fire in St Louis many years ago erased a lot of Vet's records and has saved the government a lot of money.

Then, as a welder one time when I was on strike from my regular job, I worked for Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife. I was hired to complete some OSHA safety requirements at the fish ladder at Willamette Falls. I welded 6000 pounds of kick rails, from one end to the other on the ladders. Of course, this was all at ground level, so all the welding was done on my knees, on steel grating and/or concrete. When the job was done, my knees just kept hurting. Seems I tore the meniscus in both knees. Of course workmans comp fought me, but with the help of a lawyer, they paid for surgeries on both knees.

Then back to my regular job...There was a broken pipe at the ceiling in a basement, flooding everything. I was the pipefitter on shift, so I had to climb up a ladder to shut a valve. The ladder was not long enough, but there was some large cribbing timber in the area. I moved one of these timbers under the ladder to give me a little extra reach. While adjusting the timber to be where I needed it, I kicked it sideways with my foot. Crack! Blew my knee again. Repaired surgically, again, after a lengthy fight with workmans comp. And remember, each time meniscus is repaired, some of it is removed, and is very cumulative. Also important here, is, so far, none of my injuries were considered lost time, as the state and the company alter days off to make sure it was your days off during the surgery and recovery. Then back to work immediately, doing nothing, just so it's not considered a lost time injury.

Then, at 25-years at the mill, I fell thru a rotten steel-grating. Twisted my knee really good, and tore some more meniscus. This one was my first lost time injury. Another surgery, and another fight with workmans comp to approve the surgery. And each time the surgeries are postponed, the damage gets worse while waiting approval for the surgery. In each case, the doctor has said it would have been an easier surgery, six months ago.

And working as a pipefitter another 15 years, with trashed knees, I finally had a total knee replacement. A miserable experience, with less than satisfactory results. I'm approved to have the other knee replaced, but as bad as the first surgery turned out, I've decided to wait as long as I possibly can, for the second replacement.

Working in heavy construction or heavy industry, yep, the pay was always very good. But it's a trade off. I sold my body and my health to support my family. Such is life, and I just might do it again if I had to re-choose.

In addition to many back injuries, which a feller just learns to live with, I had multiple eye injuries. Fabricating steel, there are metal fragments flying everywhere. I was always very good at wearing eye protection, but sometimes the metal slivers found their way to my eyes anyway. Fortunately the doctor was able to remove the fragments each time, but he always commented that under a scope, my eyes looked like craters of the moon from all the injuries.

Are ya bored yet? But, you asked.

WAYNO.

Back in 1996 I worked that fish ladder area doing flood repair. I ran conduit, put in new lights, switches and pulled new power for the counting room, etc. from the PGE hydro plant. I spent quite a few hours underneath the falls, and since it was still early spring, there was a lot of water rolling over us, the sound was deafening. No doubt I was working in close proximity to your handiwork.

 

[WAYNO]

Back in 1996 I worked that fish ladder area doing flood repair. I ran conduit, put in new lights, switches and pulled new power for the counting room, etc. from the PGE hydro plant. I spent quite a few hours underneath the falls, and since it was still early spring, there was a lot of water rolling over us, the sound was deafening. No doubt I was working in close proximity to your handiwork.

Yep, it was an interesting place to work, and I am lucky to have had the opportunity.

It seems I was there in the late eighties...We were not allowed to bring a vehicle into or thru the mill, so everything had to be wheelbarrowed in. Welders, generators, other tools, and the steel itself, and then lowered with handlines to the ladder. After this project, I built a stairs and landing platform on the upriver side of the falls, so items could be delivered to the fish ladder by boat.

Oh, the good old days.

WAYNO.