Poll: Whose fault was it?

[digger242j]

We've probably all gotten hurt on the job one time or another. Sometimes we knew what we were doing was risky, and sometimes it came as a complete surprise.

I'm curious, of the injuries you've gotten on the job, who do you believe was *really* responsible? Be honest and do some soul searching before you answer--it's hard to admit we're wrong sometimes.

For the purposes of the poll, consider your own most serious, or potentially serious injury. By potentially serious, I mean that you got hurt, but you were *lucky* you didn't get hurt a lot worse, if not killed.

Also, since many of us have done lots of different jobs connected to heavy equipment, don't limit your answer to just injuries you got when you were working on equipment. I got hurt falling off a bricklayer's scaffold, but I had to remove it before I could dig my sewer trench. I'd count that one.

The poll can be answered anonymously, but if you'd like to share a "learning experience" please do...

 

[DKinWA]

Fortunately (knock on wood) the accidents I've had only resulted in minor injuries and nothing that warranted a doctor visit. They've always been my fault and were the result of being tired and continueing to work when I should've called it a day. Now I make sure I get plenty of sleep and take a break when I start getting tired. Sometimes a 20 minute nap does wonders for getting me back on track. Definitely one of the benefits of running your own business.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I was in a hurry this morning and just voted in the poll. Here's my story:

I was preparing my V-box sander for an upcoming storm and the conveyor chain was clogged with ice. It had all bunched up at the chute and would not fall out.

I got the brilliant idea of punching the ice down through the chute with a breaker bar while the conveyor was running, so it would keep feeding as I was punching. Right from the start I told myself "I really shouldn't be doing this", but I figured I'd be careful.

Well, the chain grabbed the breaker bar eventually and it pinched my finger between the bar and the sander body, and damn near sheared the tip off from the first knuckle.

A trip to the drive in Emergency clinic and 10 stitches repaired the damage, I was lucky that it was only as bad as it had become. I kicked myself in the rear for being so stupid, I was smarter than that and knew it. In 25 years of working with and around heavy equipment, this was my first and hopefully last serious injury.

If you let your guard down, if only for a few moments, it can come back and bite you!

 

[Arc Burn]

I gave this one a sorta my fault-
I was welding gaurd rail posts to the side of a bridge off some scaffolding,we use brackets that hook to the flange of the beam and then run the aluminum planks over the brackets,i wasn't there the day before when the boys hung the brackets and layed the planks,the way the planks were layed out you could only reach the middle from one side,the other side was overbalanced if you walked to far,well i walked to far and down i went,me,a 20' aluminum scaffold,welding stinger and $350 auto helmet-splash,probably only 12' but unexpected nonetheless ,late october and the water was COLD,i was soaked and the only thing the boss screamed about was the helmet floating down the river ,I twisted my ankle but survived,from that point on i always checked the scaffold and brackets before working off of them.I pretty much landed on my feet but it could have easily been on my back or my neck.
Someone should have told me but i probably should have checked seeing how i wasn't there to hang them.

 

[digger242j]

Well, as long as we're talking about falling off scaffolding...

I metioned in the opening post about falling off a bricklayer's scaffold. That wasn't the incident I had in mind when I voted, but it's probably the one that had the most potential for hurting me a lot worse than it did.

I had to dig a sewer trench up to a new condominum building. The bricklayers had just finished that particular part of the building, but their scaffold was still up. The superintendent told me if I wanted to dig that I'd have to take the scaffold down. He gave me a laborer to help. This was a four story building. There were five tiers of scaffold, with the planking all up at the top. We took the planks down from the top to the next level, and dismantled the top teir. And so on, until we were standing on the planking just one teir, 7 feet, above ground. We both were heading the same direction, the laborer was a few steps in front of me, and we apparently were stepping on one plank at the same time.

It snapped in half.

I fell onto a pile of 2X4s that were stacked near the scaffold, landing pretty much on my face. I took couple stitches in my lip, and a couple more above my eyebrow. The laborer walked away with a few bruises.

Was this one my fault? I don't think so. The brickies had been using the same planks for weeks. I'll grant you, they were just garden variety 2X10s, not the OSHA approved stuff, but I'd never been educated in that. Under the circumstances, I don't feel it was unreasonable of me to take for granted that the planks were sound. (I won't make the same mistake again though.) The scary part is that the same thing could just as easily have happened way up at the top. Or I could have landed just a little differently and broken my neck anyway. Actually, the guy was probably lucky that one of his bricklayers hadn't taken a fall already.

 

[Arc Burn]

The scariest thing is to look back now and think what could have happened in each situation,many of us could have been killed had we landed wrong from a fall.
I can't count the number of times i've had ladders slip out from under me in a river working under a bridge,you'd get all wet and evrybody would laugh,you don't realize how serious it could have been till now.

 

[dozerman]

I've had my share of stiches and crutches over the years but the scariest potental disaster involved a co worker and friend.

He was under a small dozer banging in a pin with the lower half of his body poking out in front of the blade.
It was my job to fuel with gerry cans and while doing so my rear bumped the blade control. The blade had no shoring installed. If the blade went all the way down, it would have chopped him in half.

That was a real eye opener

 

[Taylortractornu]

I popped a concrete worker in the head with a case hoe one time on my first big job. I was digging a foundation for a settlement well beside a buildin and this foreman and his buddy had been trying to run me off. I had left the access panel on the building opn for the workers inside needed ventilation. This foremans buddy kept trying to point out the hole was 2 narrow even though I had only removed 2 buckets of dirt and i was on new 580. About the time i swun back i saw a red hard hat pop out I hit my left right pedal but it was 2 late. I knocked him off the ladder. I wasnt really sorry for it as he knew i was digging but the first thing his buddy ran to the office and told them it was my fault even though I had warned him not to be there. THe super on the job got the whole story from 2 other foremen that witnessed it and kne that noone had any business on that inner wall. Ive also done mechanic work wit ha machines red tagged and the key out and another operrator take his key and try to start it with me under it. I usually now take the fuel kill switch off or take the battery cables loose.
The same foreman on the same job when i stared out I was under him as a laborer. he'd cuss when i wouldnt fuel a gas pum when it was running. At the end of he week i had proven my self as a mechanic and an operator and then had more say over the concrete foreman. Later he had gotten a laborer burnt that way by not shutting off a pump or letting it cool. I personally love me and wont do anything to endanger me or anyone else.

 

[Squizzy246B]

We've probably all gotten hurt on the job one time or another. Sometimes we knew what we were doing was risky, and sometimes it came as a complete surprise.

I'm curious, of the injuries you've gotten on the job, who do you believe was *really* responsible? Be honest and do some soul searching before you answer--it's hard to admit we're wrong sometimes.

See thread "Lonely Friday" Post #181 :Banghead

 

[tylermckee]

lucky so far, never had anything more than some good cuts and bruises. The closest call i had was one time i was standing inside of a foundation that had just been poured, and i had my hands resting on the top of it with my fingers hanging over the outside edge. My dad was digging with a backhoe on the outside, looking for the water line. I dont know what he did but he accidentally swung the bucket over about as fast as it can go, straight at my fingers, then swung it back just barely smacking my fingers. Couldnt have been more lucky, it only felt as if someone had smacked my fingers with their hand, i know if it had taken him one second longer to swing away i would have some strange looking fingers. I think it goes without saying i am now very carfull where i keep my hands when im around any heavy equipment.

 

[nedly05]

I haven't ever hurt anyone but myself, and it's always been from hurrying. My worst was having a snap-over binder hit me just above the eye. It flipped me upside down split my head wide open. I had to go for 6 stitches. Needless to say I have 6 ratchet binders on my trailer now. They may take a little longer but they get that chain tight, and they dont slap you across the face!:yup

 

[Dozerboy]

I have never hurt anyone had several close calls most of them my fault.

 

[Countryboy]

I agree about the binders Nedly:ban . I chipped a piece of bone out of my elbow with one of those:crying :cussing . Talk about something that will bring you to your knees and tears to your eyes. The doc cut the skin, removed the chip and 3 stitches later I was back to work.:Cowboy