Poll of the Day > A guy I used to work with got crushed at work today.

(+) Yeah! (+)

He's alive.

At my parents' shop, where I worked for like a decade, there are only about 13 employees, so I know everybody pretty well. I just left at the start of this year while finishing up my degree.

Today around noon, one of my former coworkers was working on a press when something broke. The fly wheel fell, slamming into the ground and then tipping over into him. He had enough time to turn around and not much else. It slammed him into the ground, breaking his nose, arm, leg, and hip. I can't believe he survived. The fly wheel on that press is like 5000 pounds.

I feel terrible for him. Nobody sees a sudden failure like this coming, so even though he's alive, I can't call this lucky. I heard he's out of surgery for the night. He won't be able to walk for 3 months and another 3 months rehab after that. I'm so relieved that he's alive, but man, is he going to be going through a painful time.

That really sucks. I hope his recovery goes well. I know it doesn't really mean much from me, though. Maybe you could visit him. It might make him feel a little better.

Also, on an unrelated note, were you the one who when you left, you didn't get a going away party?
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LinkPizza posted...

That really sucks. I hope his recovery goes well. I know it doesn't really mean much from me, though. Maybe you could visit him. It might make him feel a little better.

Yeah, I should stop by. I only worked with him for like a year, but he's a nice guy. I was going to visit today after work, but he was still in surgery.

LinkPizza posted...

Also, on an unrelated note, were you the one who when you left, you didn't get a going away party?

I did get one, but only after another guy pointed out how shitty that was that they hadn't planned anything, so they ordered pizzas last minute.

does it look like there's gonna be any legal issues from this?
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dragon504 posted...

does it look like there's gonna be any legal issues from this?

I have no idea at this point. I do know OSHA is coming by to inspect the place. It's pretty early and I'm more worried about my former coworker right now. It's possible they could see a fine or a lawsuit, but I don't know. From what I heard, it was just a freak accident.

SushiSquid posted...

Yeah, I should stop by. I only worked with him for like a year, but he's a nice guy. I was going to visit today after work, but he was still in surgery.

Yeah. When I had surgery for a work related incident, people visited everyday.

SushiSquid posted...

I did get one, but only after another guy pointed out how shitty that was that they hadn't planned anything, so they ordered pizzas last minute.

I think there was a topic about this...

dragon504 posted...

does it look like there's gonna be any legal issues from this?

I was wondering this, too...
Edit: I see you answered...
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Dang that's tragic. Like a car wreck.
I hope the guy has a good support system of people to get him back in good health and on a good track.

I've seen a couple of people that were injured go down that opioid death spiral.

holy shit

Damn. A broken hip might give him pain and mobility issues for the rest of his life

Just one of the reasons I try not to be around things that can crush me
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Mead posted...

Damn. A broken hip might give him pain and mobility issues for the rest of his life

Just one of the reasons I try not to be around things that can crush me

THE SKY

hah

gotti

Mead posted...

Damn. A broken hip might give him pain and mobility issues for the rest of his life

That's what I've heard. According to my sister-in-law (another of the employees), the doctor called this hip fracture the worst break you can get.

Yeah, there's a good chance he's going to sue the company and take them for everything they're worth.
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GameReviews posted...

Yeah, there's a good chance he's going to sue the company and take them for everything they're worth.

He won't be the only one whose broken from this.
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If a multi-ton piece of a machine comes loose and crushes someone, that is absolutely negligence on the part of the company.
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synth_real posted...

If a multi-ton piece of a machine comes loose and crushes someone, that is absolutely negligence on the part of the company.

Or a freak accident...
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LinkPizza posted...

synth_real posted...

If a multi-ton piece of a machine comes loose and crushes someone, that is absolutely negligence on the part of the company.

Or a freak accident...

Freak accidents don't happen with properly maintained and inspected equipment.
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Doctor Foxx posted...

LinkPizza posted...

synth_real posted...

If a multi-ton piece of a machine comes loose and crushes someone, that is absolutely negligence on the part of the company.

Or a freak accident...

Freak accidents don't happen with properly maintained and inspected equipment.

Actually, since it would be unusual and unlikely for a properly maintained and inspected piece of equipment to do what it did, and freak accidents mean an incident, especially one that is harmful, occurring under highly unusual and unlikely circumstances, its probably more likely the be a freak accident under those circimstances.
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LinkPizza posted...

Doctor Foxx posted...

LinkPizza posted...

synth_real posted...

If a multi-ton piece of a machine comes loose and crushes someone, that is absolutely negligence on the part of the company.

Or a freak accident...

Freak accidents don't happen with properly maintained and inspected equipment.

Actually, since it would be unusual and unlikely for a properly maintained and inspected piece of equipment to do what it did, and freak accidents mean an incident, especially one that is harmful, occurring under highly unusual and unlikely circumstances, its probably more likely the be a freak accident under those circimstances.

It's much more likely to be an event caused by improperly maintained equipment. What I'm saying is most "accidents" at work are preventable, not necessarily by the employee that was injured, but by the company's equipment maintenance and training. It's unfortunately common for things to be improperly maintained. Much much more common than anything that could be considered an actual freak accident.
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We had an incident here at my work the other day. Two of the lube techs were setting the arms on the hoist. One of them still had his hand between the arm and the pinch weld on a car. The tech who wasn't still under the vehicle just started lifting the hoist with no warning and damn near cut off his hand. He screamed so loud the second his hand made contact. That fucker could have cost this guy his hand.

Yeah your parents are about to be bankrupt

tbh, I would never work in a machinist's shop or other manufacturing facility. Just seems too damn dangerous.
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Doctor Foxx posted...

LinkPizza posted...

Doctor Foxx posted...

LinkPizza posted...

synth_real posted...

If a multi-ton piece of a machine comes loose and crushes someone, that is absolutely negligence on the part of the company.

Or a freak accident...

Freak accidents don't happen with properly maintained and inspected equipment.

Actually, since it would be unusual and unlikely for a properly maintained and inspected piece of equipment to do what it did, and freak accidents mean an incident, especially one that is harmful, occurring under highly unusual and unlikely circumstances, its probably more likely the be a freak accident under those circimstances.

It's much more likely to be an event caused by improperly maintained equipment. What I'm saying is most "accidents" at work are preventable, not necessarily by the employee that was injured, but by the company's equipment maintenance and training. It's unfortunately common for things to be improperly maintained. Much much more common than anything that could be considered an actual freak accident.

Pretty much. If the machine was properly maintained, passed a proper inspection, and was used as intended, the likelihood of "something breaking" is pretty much zero. Now, that's in a perfect world, and in practice the legal threshold for due diligence is quite a bit lower than perfection, but this is definitely cause to suspect negligence.
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Well, like I said, OSHA will be by on Tuesday to inspect the place. They'll know more than anyone speculating here. I don't even know entirely what happened.