Not an tree related injury.....

[Jumper]

but I think the machinery aspect of the details has applicability to those here in the tree biz doing whatever.

Yesterday at 3:15 pm while I was on a professional development day, ie on the golf course at the time my lead hand slipped while getting out of out forklift at my mine located layup yard. Claims he was wearing gloves, as this is gloves on company when in th mine and elsewhere. He grabbed for something and right ring finger and ring snagged on the latch for the fork lift door, resulting in a laceration and a pretty nasty bruised bone. Fortunately did not lose the finger!! One week light duties no lifting the result so I have put him exclusively in the forklift and provided another labourer to halp out with the grunt work.

I stopped wearing rings 15 years ago when I threw 30 lbs of lead diving weights on a belt onto a pier and somehow the belt snagged my ring and broke it before much damage done. Still smarted like &^%$#@! IN the navy rings were prohibited on board ship; you could have on your ID disk chain if you wanted.

Anyways how many of you wear rings, whether under gloves or not. There are a lot of things on a tree related worksite to snag rings and the last thing that is needed is a preventable distraction at the wrong moment. Food for thought.

 

[LarryTheCableGuy]

I knew of a guy who was enjoying an adult beverage at his yacht club one afternoon and saw a boat coming in kinda squirrelly. He ran down to help and his ring caught on a nail protruding from the handrail. He now has nine fingers instead of ten.

It can happen anyplace, not just the workplace.

.

 

[wood4heat]

A friend of mine was working on his truck and wasn't paying attention and set his wrench right on the battery terminals. Heated his ring up in a hurry and burned it into his finger. Had to cut the ring off and wound up with a pretty wicked scar.

 

[Frank Boyer]

I hooked mine on a backhoe bucket that I was unloading from my pickup. I went with the bucket and landed hard. I was very lucky to get by with a few bruises.
I have a picture at school of a ring that caught on something and cleaned all of the skin/muscle of of a ring finger. It is a nice picture of the bones in a finger.

 

[mysawmyrules]

Snagged a ring on a shard of aluminium on the back door of a cargo van and my feet stopped about 2 inches from the ground, what I yelled is still traveling through space. The good side is that I can scratch around corners. Married 14 years and a ring for 4 of them. No more.

Have a grandfather who did the battery trick 24 volt on a W30 loader. Finger cotterized now just along for the ride.

 

[masiman]

I knew a guy in the Marines that lost his ring finger jumping off a deuce and a half with a ruck. Lost the finger. Got divorced later. Man was he pissed.

I don't wear them for that reason. Any sports or tool activity, it comes off.

 

[turnkey4099]

I almost got divorced before the marriage ceremony when she found out it was not, under any circumsstances, going to be a double ring thingy. I made it clear that I would never wear a ring due to the hazards.

Harry K

 

[belgian]

Wearing rings (wehter finger or ear) is forbidden with many outside jobs here. Too often a finger gets ripped off because of wearing one.

My wedding ring is nearly 20 years old and is still like new (if yaw know what I mean)

 

[Bermie]

I had a ring on my right hand, got hooked in the tailgate of a dump truck as I was unloading stuff, (no gloves) still have a scar where it dug in.
I still wear my wedding band, but I almost always work with gloves and I never feel it, any other rings come off or if I work without gloves, off comes the band.
I was subbing for a friend, one of his groundies had rings, on almost every finger, bracelets on both wrists and necklaces (leather & beady type) and he was FEEDING the CHIPPER!!!!!

 

[Tekko]

He almost deserve getting caught and pulled in.

 

[TALLGUY]

Swimming Pool

I almost lost my finger on the slide at the local pool. It caught on the top and before I knew it I was in the water surrounded with a ring of blood. Last time I ever went down the slide.

 

[Pilsnaman]

Co-worker and I were on a removal and were pushing the cut up sections of spar towards the truck. One section of very large wood slipped and his ring finger, with ring on, was crushed between the two logs. Once another groundy and I got the log moved he realized the ring was pancaked to his finger down to the bone. He used pliers to make the ring into a square and got it off some how before going to the hospital, docs said this saved his finger. He now has permanent nerve, tissue, tendon, and blood flow damage to his finger but at least he kept it. Only time I wear a ring now is at the office and when going out with the wife, any other time it is off.

 

[Magnum783]

In the AF we do not let anyone of our troop head on to duty with out remvoing anything that does not have a break free link. I can tell you the live and finger that rule may have saved. I leave mine at the house, never does it report to duty with me.
Jared

 

[Jumper]

The offending latch that snagged the finger.

 

[Farmer Ferd]

My brother was climbing off the roof of my other brothers house. as he let go his wedding band got caught. he didn't lose his finger but it was ugly it was ripped up all around and swelled up immediately. his ring was stuck on. I got some dental floss and started wrapping his finger from the tip out real tight squishing all the blood out almost to the bone the ring came right off. My nuckleheaded brother still wears his ring I don't

 

[squad143]

The only time my wedding ring goes on my finger is for a formal function. I have seen too many people with their skin and muscle "de-gloved" from their fingers. Learn from others misfortunes, no jewelry on your hands when you work with your hands.

 

[Sprig]

A no-ringer here too, especially when working with tools or moving heavy things. Came close to a bad thing years ago in the mill when I got my hand pinched in a line of slabs, crushed the ring I had on and had to smack it round with a pikaroon then get it cut off, invented many new words that day but escaped with no major damage, never again. The ex used to get miffed that I rarely wore my wedding ring so I put it on a chain, hm, never wore that much either *shrug*, oh well.