Worst workplace incident/accident?
Discussion
An apprentice at a garage was doing well, day realease at college and making progress on to his NVQs. Enjoyed his job, the employer looked after him and provided all the clothing and PPE, only problem was that he was having an issue getting the supplied cotton overalls dry from working saturday morning to Monday, he had the bright idea of buying a second set for himself, bought some in nylon so that they would dry easier.
The garage had an Alfa wiith a rusty tank which needed replacing, he had done the job before. He dropped the tank from the car which still still had some petrol in it. Static from his overalls ignited the fumes, the apprentice was on fire, the foreman grabbed his ankles and pulled him from under the car and threw up into the open air, they put the flames out rolling him in whatever they could.
Months of skin grafts followed.
All for the sake of getting the lads overalls dry on time.
The garage had an Alfa wiith a rusty tank which needed replacing, he had done the job before. He dropped the tank from the car which still still had some petrol in it. Static from his overalls ignited the fumes, the apprentice was on fire, the foreman grabbed his ankles and pulled him from under the car and threw up into the open air, they put the flames out rolling him in whatever they could.
Months of skin grafts followed.
All for the sake of getting the lads overalls dry on time.
Edited by Robbo 27 on Tuesday 25th September 08:50
Two historical ones to think about
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Peigneur
And this one
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byford_Dolphin
....
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Peigneur
And this one
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byford_Dolphin
....
Bollycerb said:
Wikipedia said:
Subsequent investigation by forensic pathologists determined that Hellevik, being exposed to the highest pressure gradient and in the process of moving to secure the inner door, was forced through the 60 centimetres (24 in) diameter opening created by the jammed interior trunk door by escaping air and violently dismembered, including bisection of his thoracoabdominal cavity, which further resulted in expulsion of all of the internal organs of his chest and abdomen, except the trachea and a section of small intestine, and of the thoracic spine. These were projected some distance, one section later being found 10 metres (30 ft) vertically above the exterior pressure door.
Ewww.Vanordinaire said:
I'd reckon farming is the most dangerous UK job, never seen any deaths, but seen hundreds of injuries and know a few people who've died.
I suspect that statistics may say something different, but farming is undeniably up there in the danger stakes. I worked on one in my year off and (admittedly over a few years, not just the period I worked there) they had things like part of a foot lost to a spud harvester (someone tried to kick a jammed stone free), trailer hitch dropped on foot, fall from a fair height onto concrete barn floor, and death by electrocution (opening spray booms, caught overhead power line).captain_cynic said:
98elise said:
Nanook said:
I'd need to have a proper think about it, but when a wheel is on your car, and you're driving, there are 2 things to consider. The actual velocity it's travelling forward at, and the angular velocity that it's rotating at.
Think about the angular velocity. It is a result of the torque being applied, and the friction from the tyres/bearings etc.
The moment of inertia is the property that dictates the relationship between torque and angular acceleration.
If you have something at a certain rotational speed, or a certain angular acceleration, as a result of the torque appled and the current moment of inertia, then you seriously reduce the mass of the object, by say, removing it from the rest of the rotating assembly (the brake disc, driveshaft, flywheel, all the other things that are rotating with it) then will the angular velocity of the wheel increase?
No because no additional energy has transferred from the rest of the rotating parts. When the wheel detaches it instantly starts losing energy.Think about the angular velocity. It is a result of the torque being applied, and the friction from the tyres/bearings etc.
The moment of inertia is the property that dictates the relationship between torque and angular acceleration.
If you have something at a certain rotational speed, or a certain angular acceleration, as a result of the torque appled and the current moment of inertia, then you seriously reduce the mass of the object, by say, removing it from the rest of the rotating assembly (the brake disc, driveshaft, flywheel, all the other things that are rotating with it) then will the angular velocity of the wheel increase?
Someone suggested gravity. That is the only sensible way a wheel will start accelerating once it's detached.
What happens if it's a wheel on a plane on a conveyor belt?
JamesRR said:
I must say. I always think tree surgeon/forestry would be very interesting.
You need your wits about a you all the time, trouble is most of them are half-wits. Over the years I've stuffed a saw into my calf, crushed my foot, had hands and fingers smashed, cracked my ribs plus more that I can't remember.Worst I've seen was a colleague fall about 4 foot onto an engineering block wall, he caught his knee right on the edge, lots of blood straight away, told him to drop his trousers so we could see too be confronted with a huge flap of skin hanging and a nice view of the inside of a kneecap
Condi said:
Europa1 said:
I suspect that statistics may say something different, but farming is undeniably up there in the danger stakes.
Nope, the stats agree. There are exceptions, but generally farming has the most deaths and serious injuries year after year.
A bloke I worked with on YTS lost an argument with a sugar beet harvester resulting in him losing his right arm between his elbow and wrist. It must have happened around the time I was born.
While I was on YTS a tractor driver on a neighbouring farm managed to plough himself in
The contractor my dad used for silage harvested sugar beet with a Vervaet like this https://www.google.com/search?q=vervaet+beet+harve... there's a very steep hill in Shropshire that the harvester was driving along on the way to the next job and the machine is not fitted with brakes, it's all done in the hydro. I'm not familiar with the machine, but they said it jumped out of gear going down the hill, so the hydro is then useless. She pickup up a fair bit of speed on the way down the hill and punted the tractor and trailer that was escorting it down the hill which threw the driver from the cab and left him in a really bad way.
I've been cornered by a cow in the corner of a shed and absolutely battered. Also got attacked by pigs, trouble with that was, it was on an outdoor unit and all of her mates rocked up to have a go too.
I also got my neck broken at work when a load of round bales of hay fell off a trailer and used my head to cushion their fall.
Condi said:
Europa1 said:
I suspect that statistics may say something different, but farming is undeniably up there in the danger stakes.
Nope, the stats agree. There are exceptions, but generally farming has the most deaths and serious injuries year after year.
TooMany2cvs said:
Willy Nilly said:
As someone that's done 15 seasons driving a potato harvester, he really should have known better.
Familiarity = complacency...It chewed an arm and an ear before he somehow got free.
She spent the afternoon cleaning the interior.
Induction course to one of our buildings. HF burn in a lab. Person "thought" they were OK and refused anticream or medical advice. Died a few hours later in hospital.
Rumour, of the lathes at a place I did summer work was called "Pinky" as it always pulled (off) your fingers. Of the eight lathes it was always the last one any operators would use through choice.
Self, pushed a trolley of 25kg trays of egg mayo across a factory floor, 300kg of egg mayo has much momentum, floor grids removed to rod drains out, can't see as stack is taller than me. Wake up in A&E covered in egg mayo, blood and a union rep beside me with the "claim from the company forms". Got me sacked but a small payout (about 2 days O/T, thanks union, would have rather had long term job....).
On a power station, saw an Engineering Manager, Cambridge type, polished chiselled young man go to make a measurement between parts of the turbine train and with a metal tape measure across the 4000A insulation gap. He was there, saw what was happening, closed my eyes and he was gone when I opened them. Still, dead mans shoes and all that, promotion opportunity and progressive Learning from Experience. Except he'd just realised his mistake at the last second and hadn't been fried to death. Drat.
Worst was a friend climbing, so not quite work, but he worked as a roped access scaffold type. He didn't do up his chinstrap one day we were climbing on Stanage Edge, had a pretty small fall but it took him headwards to earth. Blood and green (brain) could be seen. We tried to keep it in but no avail.
Rumour, of the lathes at a place I did summer work was called "Pinky" as it always pulled (off) your fingers. Of the eight lathes it was always the last one any operators would use through choice.
Self, pushed a trolley of 25kg trays of egg mayo across a factory floor, 300kg of egg mayo has much momentum, floor grids removed to rod drains out, can't see as stack is taller than me. Wake up in A&E covered in egg mayo, blood and a union rep beside me with the "claim from the company forms". Got me sacked but a small payout (about 2 days O/T, thanks union, would have rather had long term job....).
On a power station, saw an Engineering Manager, Cambridge type, polished chiselled young man go to make a measurement between parts of the turbine train and with a metal tape measure across the 4000A insulation gap. He was there, saw what was happening, closed my eyes and he was gone when I opened them. Still, dead mans shoes and all that, promotion opportunity and progressive Learning from Experience. Except he'd just realised his mistake at the last second and hadn't been fried to death. Drat.
Worst was a friend climbing, so not quite work, but he worked as a roped access scaffold type. He didn't do up his chinstrap one day we were climbing on Stanage Edge, had a pretty small fall but it took him headwards to earth. Blood and green (brain) could be seen. We tried to keep it in but no avail.
treehack said:
JamesRR said:
I must say. I always think tree surgeon/forestry would be very interesting.
You need your wits about a you all the time, trouble is most of them are half-wits. StanleyT said:
Induction course to one of our buildings. HF burn in a lab. Person "thought" they were OK and refused anticream or medical advice. Died a few hours later in hospital.
Rumour, of the lathes at a place I did summer work was called "Pinky" as it always pulled (off) your fingers. Of the eight lathes it was always the last one any operators would use through choice.
Self, pushed a trolley of 25kg trays of egg mayo across a factory floor, 300kg of egg mayo has much momentum, floor grids removed to rod drains out, can't see as stack is taller than me. Wake up in A&E covered in egg mayo, blood and a union rep beside me with the "claim from the company forms". Got me sacked but a small payout (about 2 days O/T, thanks union, would have rather had long term job....).
On a power station, saw an Engineering Manager, Cambridge type, polished chiselled young man go to make a measurement between parts of the turbine train and with a metal tape measure across the 4000A insulation gap. He was there, saw what was happening, closed my eyes and he was gone when I opened them. Still, dead mans shoes and all that, promotion opportunity and progressive Learning from Experience. Except he'd just realised his mistake at the last second and hadn't been fried to death. Drat.
Worst was a friend climbing, so not quite work, but he worked as a roped access scaffold type. He didn't do up his chinstrap one day we were climbing on Stanage Edge, had a pretty small fall but it took him headwards to earth. Blood and green (brain) could be seen. We tried to keep it in but no avail.
Didn't follow any of those except 'pinky'. Rumour, of the lathes at a place I did summer work was called "Pinky" as it always pulled (off) your fingers. Of the eight lathes it was always the last one any operators would use through choice.
Self, pushed a trolley of 25kg trays of egg mayo across a factory floor, 300kg of egg mayo has much momentum, floor grids removed to rod drains out, can't see as stack is taller than me. Wake up in A&E covered in egg mayo, blood and a union rep beside me with the "claim from the company forms". Got me sacked but a small payout (about 2 days O/T, thanks union, would have rather had long term job....).
On a power station, saw an Engineering Manager, Cambridge type, polished chiselled young man go to make a measurement between parts of the turbine train and with a metal tape measure across the 4000A insulation gap. He was there, saw what was happening, closed my eyes and he was gone when I opened them. Still, dead mans shoes and all that, promotion opportunity and progressive Learning from Experience. Except he'd just realised his mistake at the last second and hadn't been fried to death. Drat.
Worst was a friend climbing, so not quite work, but he worked as a roped access scaffold type. He didn't do up his chinstrap one day we were climbing on Stanage Edge, had a pretty small fall but it took him headwards to earth. Blood and green (brain) could be seen. We tried to keep it in but no avail.
What happened at induction and the eggs?
Zarco said:
Didn't follow any of those except 'pinky'.
What happened at induction and the eggs?
My guess...What happened at induction and the eggs?
Induction - HF = Hydrofluoric acid at a guess, which is a horrible way to go.
The eggs one- big trolley, someone had the floor drain covers up for cleaning - trolley catches on drain and covers pusher in eggs and (his) blood.
Worked for the council about 10 years ago.
Me and a young lad replacing broken paving slabs, he cuts the corner off a new one, and the slab just snaps in half, (no real issue, normally we just cut another, and carry on, but he's come to work in a bad mood), kills the power to the stihl saw, but immediately throws it at the floor, the cutting disc still at almost full RPM, the disc hits the pavement, grips the floor, and bounces up, straight into the back of his thigh.
Ended up driving him to hospital in the van, glad the council had people who cleaned them, and it wasn't my job to sort all the blood.
He was sacked.
Me and a young lad replacing broken paving slabs, he cuts the corner off a new one, and the slab just snaps in half, (no real issue, normally we just cut another, and carry on, but he's come to work in a bad mood), kills the power to the stihl saw, but immediately throws it at the floor, the cutting disc still at almost full RPM, the disc hits the pavement, grips the floor, and bounces up, straight into the back of his thigh.
Ended up driving him to hospital in the van, glad the council had people who cleaned them, and it wasn't my job to sort all the blood.
He was sacked.
At work we have a large 3 story high mobile hospitality facility that is used for events.
During the winter it undergoes maintenance and was partially set up, when unfortunately a sub contractor fell off the top floor and died of his injuries.
Ironically his job was to do the yearly height safety, check all the harnesses, attachment points, barriers etc to ensure people cannot fall.
At a previous work place there were contractors working outside fitting new duct work. They were being observed by the project manager from his perch - he was leaning on the top of a 55gallon drum on his phone.
When the job was done the contractors wanted him to come and inspect the work but couldnt get his attention (he was old and hard of hearing) so they popped over to get him, only to find he had had a massive heart attack at some point and was still propped up on the barrel dead.
During the winter it undergoes maintenance and was partially set up, when unfortunately a sub contractor fell off the top floor and died of his injuries.
Ironically his job was to do the yearly height safety, check all the harnesses, attachment points, barriers etc to ensure people cannot fall.
At a previous work place there were contractors working outside fitting new duct work. They were being observed by the project manager from his perch - he was leaning on the top of a 55gallon drum on his phone.
When the job was done the contractors wanted him to come and inspect the work but couldnt get his attention (he was old and hard of hearing) so they popped over to get him, only to find he had had a massive heart attack at some point and was still propped up on the barrel dead.
My first job was working for a local civil engineering company, on the project where were doing the infrastructure a house builder on one of the first parcels of land being developed had a delivery of timber roof trusses delivered to site, they arrived after the tele-handler operator had gone home.
This resulted in an untrained young person offering to off load them for the PM, he then took a short cut of the edge of the ramp on site and rolled the tele-handler, the trusses then stopped the plant turning over. The young lad called to the PM for help who told him not to move, after the PM went to the office to call for help the young lad opened the door on the low side having panicked. The change in CoG caused the tele-handler to roll over crushing him fatality.
We (luckily) has a major injury the following day on our site where the HSE then couldn’t attend as they were investigating the death on the house builder site. We had been using a moxy truck to move trees being cleared with an excavator with a bucket (not the approved tree removal contractor), the returning and reversing Moxy had a single tree trunk still stuck hanging out the rear of it. The excavator driver with his feet propped up on the half glass reading the paper didn’t hear the Moxy returning (maybe due to a broken reversing beacon), the first he knew about it was when a tree truck pinned him to his seat via his groin. I believe he made a full recovery, this was instrumental in me seeking a job with a main contractor.
Incidentally the tree contractor a year later on another job had felled a tree and the attachment to the tractor has stripped all bar one branch from the trunk (leaving a 150-200 sub), the operator then in an excavator tracked over that trunk. Due to it being suspended between two high points either side of a dip, causing the trunk to snap. The weight of the machine track caused the partially snapped trunk to whip up the side of the machine cab, although the cab was fully enclosed in a demolition cage the one branch stub punched a hole through the glass and then came to rest (luckily) just striking the operator on the side of the head. After not answering the phone, he is son who worked for him went to the forest he was working on and found his father still unconscious in the machine. Made an almost full recovery apart from a severed tear duct, which means manually putting drops in his eye now.
I met a chap on Terminal 5 (Matt Gilbert) on virtually his first day in construction, gave him is project briefing, he eventually moved teams 2 or 3 years later. He was fatality killed when some SGB temporary works failed whilst supporting a couple of tonnes of precast concrete up in the air. I think they (him and a chainman) fell about 10-15m into the West Rail box basement. It was a different part of T5 and that has a major effect on me and other, even though it was nothing to do with our sub-project works. HSE prosecuted main contractor and SGB.
A lift engineer was also killed on the same project when working in a pit and a descending lift killed him, again another prosecution.
Whilst working at T5, I stopped on the way home at a double fatality on a RTA on the A40. That was pretty grim, two cars two trees (the trees lost a little bit of bark).
Had a few other incidents over the last 20 years, none really warrant sharing. Although people do seem to like using circular saws and check height, when they hit a hard point in whatever they are cutting there is normally a disk chest/face injury (quite common).
Whilst slightly entertaining, having now got involved in plenty of investigations human behaviour is a fascinating thing once you start delving into it.
This resulted in an untrained young person offering to off load them for the PM, he then took a short cut of the edge of the ramp on site and rolled the tele-handler, the trusses then stopped the plant turning over. The young lad called to the PM for help who told him not to move, after the PM went to the office to call for help the young lad opened the door on the low side having panicked. The change in CoG caused the tele-handler to roll over crushing him fatality.
We (luckily) has a major injury the following day on our site where the HSE then couldn’t attend as they were investigating the death on the house builder site. We had been using a moxy truck to move trees being cleared with an excavator with a bucket (not the approved tree removal contractor), the returning and reversing Moxy had a single tree trunk still stuck hanging out the rear of it. The excavator driver with his feet propped up on the half glass reading the paper didn’t hear the Moxy returning (maybe due to a broken reversing beacon), the first he knew about it was when a tree truck pinned him to his seat via his groin. I believe he made a full recovery, this was instrumental in me seeking a job with a main contractor.
Incidentally the tree contractor a year later on another job had felled a tree and the attachment to the tractor has stripped all bar one branch from the trunk (leaving a 150-200 sub), the operator then in an excavator tracked over that trunk. Due to it being suspended between two high points either side of a dip, causing the trunk to snap. The weight of the machine track caused the partially snapped trunk to whip up the side of the machine cab, although the cab was fully enclosed in a demolition cage the one branch stub punched a hole through the glass and then came to rest (luckily) just striking the operator on the side of the head. After not answering the phone, he is son who worked for him went to the forest he was working on and found his father still unconscious in the machine. Made an almost full recovery apart from a severed tear duct, which means manually putting drops in his eye now.
I met a chap on Terminal 5 (Matt Gilbert) on virtually his first day in construction, gave him is project briefing, he eventually moved teams 2 or 3 years later. He was fatality killed when some SGB temporary works failed whilst supporting a couple of tonnes of precast concrete up in the air. I think they (him and a chainman) fell about 10-15m into the West Rail box basement. It was a different part of T5 and that has a major effect on me and other, even though it was nothing to do with our sub-project works. HSE prosecuted main contractor and SGB.
A lift engineer was also killed on the same project when working in a pit and a descending lift killed him, again another prosecution.
Whilst working at T5, I stopped on the way home at a double fatality on a RTA on the A40. That was pretty grim, two cars two trees (the trees lost a little bit of bark).
Had a few other incidents over the last 20 years, none really warrant sharing. Although people do seem to like using circular saws and check height, when they hit a hard point in whatever they are cutting there is normally a disk chest/face injury (quite common).
Whilst slightly entertaining, having now got involved in plenty of investigations human behaviour is a fascinating thing once you start delving into it.
Having worked in the Scaffolding Industry for over 30 years as you can well imagine there has been a few.
Scaffolders Labourer feeding the materials to an external scaffold via 6m long stagings across a gap from concrete floor to the scaffold being built, didn’t secure the stagings and as the day progressed, due to his movement he was slowly working the stagings off the concrete floor, he went for the last few fittings to tie the scaffold in to the building, the stagings parted and he came down around 7m, he landed on a scaffold that had already been built lower down very nearly impaling himself on a standard, smashed his rib cage to bits, numerous broken bones, cuts and abrasions and then of course the stagings landed on him too! He spent about 2 months in hospital and due to his pain they had to give him an epidural, to add insult to injury he caught an infection in his spine from this procedure and had to have another operation on top of the numerous others to put him back together. He did make a decent recovery after about a year but he can’t undertake any form of manual work.
Scaffolder erecting a structure to a steel framed building decides he doesn’t want to use the ladder that was actually next to him, shins up the fixed bracing to the front face of the scaffold, gets to about 5m high, loses his grip, falls off backwards landing on his arse, smashes his pelvis, legs etc, about 9 months off work.
Foremen Scaffolder erecting a Handrail to Steel Frame building to floor edges, decides the Cherry Picker he has been supplied with and trained to use is not quick enough for him, starts traversing the Steel Work, falls off from a height of around 4m and badly breaks his ankle resulting in 3 months off work.
Scaffolder dismantling the external independent of a completed new build house, started taking the gate off the loading tower, didn’t clip his harness on, the loading bay gate slipped as he undid the last fitting, the gate fell to ground as well as him, he came down 5.5m, really nasty gash on his head, fractured his skull (His Hard Hat did its job or he most certainly would have been a gonna), smashed his right shoulder to pieces. He made a good recovery but never worked again.
A Manager from a depot in the North East who I had sat next to in a Company Training course not two months previously was undertaking an enquiry on a roof in his patch, stepped backwards onto a roof light, went through and came down to the concrete floor 7m below, died at the scene.
Scaffolders Labourer feeding the materials to an external scaffold via 6m long stagings across a gap from concrete floor to the scaffold being built, didn’t secure the stagings and as the day progressed, due to his movement he was slowly working the stagings off the concrete floor, he went for the last few fittings to tie the scaffold in to the building, the stagings parted and he came down around 7m, he landed on a scaffold that had already been built lower down very nearly impaling himself on a standard, smashed his rib cage to bits, numerous broken bones, cuts and abrasions and then of course the stagings landed on him too! He spent about 2 months in hospital and due to his pain they had to give him an epidural, to add insult to injury he caught an infection in his spine from this procedure and had to have another operation on top of the numerous others to put him back together. He did make a decent recovery after about a year but he can’t undertake any form of manual work.
Scaffolder erecting a structure to a steel framed building decides he doesn’t want to use the ladder that was actually next to him, shins up the fixed bracing to the front face of the scaffold, gets to about 5m high, loses his grip, falls off backwards landing on his arse, smashes his pelvis, legs etc, about 9 months off work.
Foremen Scaffolder erecting a Handrail to Steel Frame building to floor edges, decides the Cherry Picker he has been supplied with and trained to use is not quick enough for him, starts traversing the Steel Work, falls off from a height of around 4m and badly breaks his ankle resulting in 3 months off work.
Scaffolder dismantling the external independent of a completed new build house, started taking the gate off the loading tower, didn’t clip his harness on, the loading bay gate slipped as he undid the last fitting, the gate fell to ground as well as him, he came down 5.5m, really nasty gash on his head, fractured his skull (His Hard Hat did its job or he most certainly would have been a gonna), smashed his right shoulder to pieces. He made a good recovery but never worked again.
A Manager from a depot in the North East who I had sat next to in a Company Training course not two months previously was undertaking an enquiry on a roof in his patch, stepped backwards onto a roof light, went through and came down to the concrete floor 7m below, died at the scene.
Edited by PW555 on Tuesday 25th September 10:30
Edited by PW555 on Tuesday 25th September 10:33
Buster73 said:
A friend of mine works behind the law courts on the quayside, has been stopped from driving home towards the swing bridge a few times over the years due to jumpers from the Tyne bridge missing the river.
Tragic way to go.
I used to work not far from there too many years ago and it’s an uncomfortably common occurance. It’s worse though when they jump into the mud banks when the tide is out and get sucked under. Bodies are mostly unrecoverable because of the suction. My parents neighbours son killed himself this was 18mths ago off the wear bridge early one morning, no chances of body recovery but CCTV showed him take the final leap and they issued the death cert based on this evidence, otherwise it would have meant a very long wait for him to be “missing” and finally declared dead. Very sad.Tragic way to go.
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