My good friend was run over by his skidder today...

[Oldtimer]

He is in Maine Medical Portland Maine in surgery right now...

He tried crossing the solenoid on the starter to get it running, and it was in gear. It started and he slipped. It ran him over @ the pelvis. A JD 540B with big cogged chains.

I don't know any more than this right now.

I have done this same thing hundreds of times...most recently with the JD 648D. And it could start in gear easily.

Be careful out there.

 

[Wazzu]

Jesus man, sorry to hear that.

 

[husqvarnaguy]

Hope he makes it out okay. He is lucky to be alive. I knew a guy that was starting his dozer while standing on the tracks and it ran him over and killed him.

 

[lumberjackchef]

Man alive, I have been doing that on the backhoe lately. Makes me think twice about doing that again. Prayers will be sent! Hope he makes it out of this OK!

Sent from my SCH-M828C using Tapatalk 2

 

[Oldtimer]

Just got a call from his brother.

He had a "minor" surgery to put a pin in his femur...which was broken and the upper part was shoved up into his pelvis...and his pelvis is broken in 3 places. They have a 20# weight pulling continuously on the leg bone to extract it from the pelvis...traction I guess.
Then he will probably need more surgery for the pelvis...and they still have no idea if he has internal organ damage...but he's hungry and they won't let him eat because they don't know..
His circulation is fine, and he isn't paralyzed at all.

To make things 500 time worse, his father is dying of stage 5 intestinal cancer...
His dad is so bad that he can't speak more than 2 words at a time...he could pass at any moment.

The family is going through hell.

 

[hanniedog]

Hope you friend recovers. He did however commit a cardinal sin in regards to starting the machine from the ground. They make remote starter buttons that you can clamp on the solenoid and stand out of harms way when activating the starter.

 

[madhatte]

I knew a guy in OR whose uncle got clobbered the same way. Careful, all!

 

[ROME K/G]

Accident

Dang! when it rains it pours! My prayers are with you and your family to deal with all this suffering. Keep high spirits and stay strong. Gary

 

[northmanlogging]

Odin's blind eye! I do the same thing probably 2-3 times a week... I try to be carefull, I know its not smart, or safe, but it is quicker than climbing all the way on... or getting in the truck... or tractor, or skidder... it still worries me every time though.

I like that getting foreign bits of metal jammed into yer bones is considered "minor" now.
If they got him in and out of surgery once. He's going to be ok once they put everything back more or less where it belongs... they are sadistic bastards is the only reason there not letting the man eat! that and maybe they plan on hacking him open again soon and sticking more metal in sensitive places. Bring him a beer and give the nurses hell for me!

on second though skip the beer and just harass the nursing staff:msp_wink:

 

[2dogs]

Dang! Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope he recovers fully.

 

[OlympicYJ]

Hope he recovers OT! Sorry to hear about something so tragic.

 

[mingo]

So sorry to hear about your friend OT hope he makes a full recovery.

 

[slowp]

Hope he gets better, and the rest of youse, don't do that!

 

[HuskStihl]

I am sincerely glad that he got off so "lucky." A broken pelvis will lay him up for some time and I feel bad about that. I do stupid stuff like that all the time and it may be time for a more serious re-think of my actions. Thanks for posting this

 

[Dave Boyt]

"There but for the grace of God..." It sounds more dramatic when it is a big machine, but even a small farm tractor can do worse than that to you. I'm guessing that snow you folks had may have saved his life, that it cushioned him from below, and the tire rode over the top of the snow? Hope he has family and good friends to help him through this rough time.

 

[Oldtimer]

Visited with my pal today after he came out of a 4 hour surgery...they bolted his pelvis back together.

His leg wasn't broken, like I thought. But it shattered the pelvis when it was shoved up inside.

The surgeon said he would be home in 3-4 days, and on crutches for 3 months. After that, he will be more or less good as new, save the normal aches and pains when bad weather is around.

But he has no insurance, and now no income...and his dad is almost dead...he's in some deep hot water.
But better alive in deep hot water than dead in cold dark dirt.

Many thanks to all of you.

 

[4x4American]

Sorry to hear the news, hope everyything works out

 

[redprospector]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend Old Timer, he has a rough row to hoe.
I went through a similar thing some years ago. My Dad survived another 5 years, and I can walk without a limp...most of the time.
I'll keep your friend in my prayers.

Andy

 

[demc570]

prayers and good thoughts sent!

 

[nhlogga]

Thoughts are with your friend and his family. This is exactly the reason I double check to make darn sure any machine I start is in neutral. This same thing happened to my grampa doing the same thing also on a 540B. He didnt getvhurt but I gave him heck about the skidder being in gear. Those machines are supposed to have a safety so the machine will not start unless it is in neutral with the park brake on. Unfortunately most have been bypassed and not fixed.