Leg nearly severed by a stump grinder

[Treeman14]

Rayco machines have auto braking as well in their hydraulic models such as our RG50/RG85. I never considered other makes and models wouldnt have that feature.

That would not have made a difference in TM's case. The machine was left running at full throttle, right. TM, our prayers are with you.

 

[Jumper]

TM,

\

Since Im fixing to be out on my own, Im going to take someone's advise from above (sorry dont remember who) and find some way to cordon off the area. Ive done it before on removals when unapproved people wouldnt stay out of the area, it may be time to make it happen more often.

Anytime I was grinding with Company 1 and 2, it always was a two man team, one guy to run the machine, and another to primarily keep others the blazes away. Then we removed chips after the machine was shut down. Townhouses were the worst, you ended up with a crowd of curious kids. As for deadman's throttle, cheapo lawnmovers from WalMart have them, why not chippers????

 

[Jumper]

You can see the rod down the tibia, and you can see the messed-up fibula. The medical Docs chose not to set the fibula, to leave it as you see it. They said it would heal back fine the way it is and that you don't use the fibula much anyway. Ohhhhh Kayyyyy.....

TM our thoughts and prayers are with you. Happy thing about orthopaedic surgury is that it is very advanced these days-I have a plate and six bolts in my arm, and was playing hockey one month after I was cut. Pisses off airport security though!! Yes it bothers me some days, but my arm works. Nasty nasty vile pictures but educational for those that use these machines daily.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I'm glad you are in good spirits Jim, at least you can spend more time with your wife in the next few months.

Guess you wont make my wedding in September huh

Sean G. told me about about it on Wednesday and youve been in my thoughts since. Hope you have a lot more luck, though less painfull.

 

[ozy365]

Tree Machine

My thoughts and prayers. I leave a better educated dude. Thank you.

Todd

 

[stehansen]

I think you saved a few legs on the rest of us by posting those pictures. Your story was very compellng, but a picture is truly worth a thousand words.

 

[Tree Machine]

You guys, I so very much apreciate your feedback of your heightened awareness. The fact that TreeCo's Dad got bitten let's us know that this isn't just a single, freak ocurrance.


Here are two more pics. These are from the side. They give a view if how deep the injury is, which the head-on shots don't really do.

 

[Tree Machine]

Tree Machine

My thoughts and prayers. I leave a better educated dude. Thank you.

Todd

Our industry leaders do their very best to educate us by creating written standards regarding safety. These are called the ANSI standards, and the ANSI Z133 is written SPECIFICALLY for the field of arboriculture. There are many individual sections, each addressing specific gear, equiment, etc.

The most recent updates just came out July 11. This is actually a publically released draft. Tom Dunlap passed that on to us the other day.

Here's a cut and paste from the Stump Grinder section.

 

[Tree Machine]

The actual stump grinder

Someone PM'd me and was asking what stump grinder it was. Here's a picture of the actual unit.

 

[RedlineIt]

Oh My Gawd!

I read your opening "chapters" of this incident like a horror novel. You have a knack with story-telling, my brother.

My wishes for a quick and thorough recovery. And ???? lucky that really effective medical care was close enough to make a difference.

A couple of years ago I worked for the parks department of a large municipality in southern Ontario. Part of my job was developing the equipment training for seasonal staff, and then training the trainers on how to train the newcomers.

I got some flak from managers that my training was overboard, took to long.

But I was working from a database of previous acidents and incidents and I made a case for working in all knowledge from prior incidents, after all, if we ignore what we know, and don't pass it on, how diligent can we claim to be?

From my files:

Hazards:

Additionally instruct the user that the backpack blower, due to the proximity of the power unit and fan to the users head, robs him/her of normal hearing awareness. Stress looking around 360*. Repeat use of phrase: Head on a swivel.

Point out to user that normal operation of the backpack blower requires the operator to back-up, or walk backwards a few steps. Stress the need to look around 360*. Repeat use of phrase: Head on a swivel.

----------------------------------------------


I've somehow arrived where I am in my arboricultural endeavours without ever having received any training on, or use of a stump grinder. All I know is they are machines of destruction, and knowing nothing else, I don't approach them.

But basic training on any equipment: Don't leave it running by itself! Under any circumstance!


So sorry about your accident, and again, quick and thorough recovery.


RedlineIt

 

[treeguy347]

Wow!!! This whole thread has really been a tragic lesson against complacency. The whole time I was reading it, i kept imagining a much larger unit. Then I see it is the same one that I routinely used before subcontracting all of my stump work. Best wishes TM.

 

[okietreedude1]

i kept imagining a much larger unit. .

I will have to admit I am the same. I was picturing something WAY bigger.

Its small size probably also contributed to your minor damage. However minor it isnt.

 

[Ekka]

Some entertaining videos for you

Hey TM

Sorry about the delay, rellies is short for relatives.

I sort of kept of this thread for a few days as I had to "settle in" to the news. I have seen some horrific accidents in my time, by trade as a young fella I was a fitter and turner in an automotive factory. Safety was hounded into to us.

I then sold insurance for 5 years and gave payouts to guys like you which happened to be rewarding in it's own way. I've seen feet run over by fork trucks with heavy loads crushing steel capped boots. People failing to wear hair nets getting caught in pedestal drills, people wearing gloves getting hands caught and nearly taken off in large pedestal grinders, people putting hands where they shouldn't getting flattened by large metal presses ... I have been lucky, had some close calls, but this industry we are in is extremely hazardous.

Unfortunately it is hard to get it through peoples heads. The industry tends to attract drop outs and no hopers and a lot of times as bosses we settle for second best knowing how difficult it is to get some-one better. Some of them you can tell them to you are blue in the face and they just don't get it... but they know all and have years of experience

Just yesterday I told my guy that if he does his stupid chit once more he's sacked ... I'm the friggin boss and I wear PPE but they're beyond that, they're supermen!

So I know where yor coming from ... ultimately it's the bosses fault. I hope that the other tree guys out there realy crack down on their workers, the irony here for me is if the worker hurts themselves it's my fault, OHS can fine me but the worker gets wc, if the worker hurts me he gets nothing ... no fine etc and I get nothing, no wc for the boss ... a real intelligent system.

Be vigilant guys, TM, thanks for sharing the disaster and the psych behind it.

Meanwhile I've been running some fun videos (on that other channel ), due to limited hosting space some come and go, but they'll make you feel good and like you're right there ... here's a link for a compilation and you can choose whatever one you want to watch.

Satdy and ekkasworld are fun viewing, you'll have a laugh. Save the link and save the downloads as you just never know when they'll get axed. Keep an eye out for new ones, put it on your favourites list!

http://web.aanet.com.au/ekka/Video/

Best thoughts and good vibes to you mate. Stay cool.

 

[Jumper]

Someone PM'd me and was asking what stump grinder it was. Here's a picture of the actual unit.

The very unit I have used in the past......I always thought there was the possiblity of injury with this unit, but your sad experience illustrated just how major the consequences can be.

 

[ray benson]

Hi Jim,
Sorry to hear about the accident. I grimaced reading the details and seeing the damage. You are fortunate to even be here. Hopefully you will have a full recovery. We are praying for you. The pic of the grinder you posted - is that a guard that is bungy strapped up out of the way?

 

[Tree Machine]

You guys, I so much appreciate your support. Can I share what a skin graft donor site looks like? This is my right leg.

 

[Tree Machine]

Here's a little frontside video. Hope this doesn't gross anyone out.

 

[Tree Machine]

And here's the backside. Hold your cookies.

 

[spacemule]

Thanks, Mike. Thanks Jumper. Who else haven't I acknowledged? Ah yes, thank you Mule. You ask a most interesting question, "Has Larry been in contact." One would assume yes, but this is not the case.

I have to be careful here. Anyone who's known me for any time knows that the Tree Machine doesn't speak badly of other people, even if they deserve it. I have the capacity to name-call, denegrate and be judgemental just like anyone, but I consciously choose not to (there's enough of that going on in the world without my help).

In the first couple days of the accident, a level of anger DID come up. My first few years as an arborist, I hired help, some guys were awesome, some guys not so much. I found the clearcut difference between the good helpers, and the not so good helpers: The good helpers were intrinsically CAREFUL. They were aware. Minds alert to things going on around them.

Every reader knows what I'm talking about. Some guys are there sorta going through the motions. They're not really thinking about what they're doing, they're just producing motion. Slow motion. Mistakes are frequent. Productive time suffers. They make a lot of excuses and blame gets placed on inanimate objects. I could list more characeristics, but the point I came to realize is, I, as a boss, can NOT teach a man how to be careful. I can teach skills and technique, but if you're careless by nature, there's no hope for you, not on a tree site.

The first thing Larry and I did at the beginning of the job was the Safety Meeting, I introduced him to the PPE that would be required and the highlights, "stay out of the kill zone, be looking up when I'm running a saw...", "I know, I know. I've worked for other tree companies." This, I didn't know about Larry, so I shortened the session and we got on with it.

I'm not even going to go into the incidences throughout the two days that demonstrated carelessness, but I was completely aware of it. That's why my early bouts of anger in the hospital. The anger wasn't toward him, it was focussed at myself. I should have been on the double lookout because I was fully aware that I had a careless person onsite. I let my guard down for just a moment, and it took me out.

So back to Spacemule's question,"Has Larry contacted you, Jim?" No. Not once. Not even after I sent him the letter forgiving him. Spacemule says, "That's a serious blunder on his part, and it must eat at him." Mule, I'm not so sure he feels the least bit responsible. People who blame always find reasons why its not their fault.

I do know he was shaken up a bit. His stump grinder boss told me he went out and got a bottle of whiskey that night.

Interesting pictures. Seeing them, you could have easily bled to death also. I'd say you're pretty lucky.

I know what you mean about careless people. In my teens, I worked a few months on 3rd shift at a Tyson's chicken plant pumping ground parts into freezers. There was one guy there that made me jump up onto the freezer twice by almost smashing me with the electric pallet jack. Had I not been looking, I'd have been squished.

I've also worked in construction, and things some normally intelligent people will do with nail guns and backhoes are scary. Children seem to have no concept of danger, and I think some adults never develop this concept. Good luck with your recovery.

 

[NeTree]

Wow... I'm actually just reading this thread, and all I can say is HOLY SH!T!

Machine, brother... best wishes in yer recovery, from all of us here.

Your attitude thru all of this has been admirable.

I'm with you on the
Pull off, shut off and run the wheel in the ground.