It's always the mundane, day-to-day stuff that gets you.

Great story and lessons, thanks for sharing it. You did all that you could, you should probably speak to someone so that you don't end up truly blaming yourself and then punishing yourself. It wasn't your fault. The fact that you are blaming yourself (taking responsibility) tells me that you're a good man, along with sharing lessons learned with the rest of us, it's a good lesson for us all. That in itself is one bit of good that came out of this.
 
kgd said:
Well I feel a bit insensitive about my earlier response.

Misanthropist, listen to the WCB folks about their advice. I hate to use the word post-dramatic stress, but going through an event like that can be real shock to the system. It puts our own mortality into perspective and you keep re-running the scenario in your head. Nobody wants to put blame on you for this. In fact, unless there is an actual safety code that was violated in your operations, then you did nothing wrong. Should have...could have...is the minds reaction to uncontrolled events.

Find somebody you know and trust and talk it out with them. I hope this thread has given you some support, buy you probably really need to find a human being to really hash out your emotions face to face. It will help, and we don't have to be tough guys 100% of the time. Take care.

Ken
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Don't feel insensitive! I thought your response was instructive and on point. I didn't start this thread just to hear everyone say "here's a cookie misanthropist!" If people get some sort of reminder of the hazards of mundane, day to day work from this story, as I hope they do, then I am very happy with how the thread goes!

But don't worry about me - feeling responsible is probably natural and I can deal with my role in this, I just wish I did things differently beforehand.
 
Wow. Some very important food for thought here.

Misanthropist, your comments about watching out for mundane and routine hazards are really important. Here's hoping that your colleague recovers swiftly, and that you feel better about your actions. Others have already pointed it out, but it's worth bearing in mind that anybody could have loosened the bolt - but fortunately, it was someone who knew how to respond to an emergency situation.

It's always important to be as philosophical as possible about this sort of thing, not least because the alternative can leave you feeling pretty down.

I once knew a guy from out East who, while cutting wood, almost chopped his friend's hand off with an axe. The accident was the product of inattention on both parties' parts. One guy was chopping, and the other setting logs on the block to be split. They developed a routine, became complacent, and failed to recognize that they had become out of sync. In the end, the 'chopee' wound up with some nerve damage, but was able to get past it. The 'chopper', on the other hand (oh god, what an awful pun), had a terrible time dealing with the guilt. I lost track of them, but I imagine that, of the two, the fellow with the axe is probably still the one having the harder time dealing with it. Anyway, I mention this not to draw direct comparisons with the case Misanthropist describes, but to underscore his point about watching out for routines.

All the best,

- Mike
 
Great story and advice. It IS the mundane that will get you.

I was tired last night and working my bandsaw. I looked away from it and the back of my hand just sort of brushed the back of the blade while i was brushing plastic off the surface.

I realized I might as well pet a rattlesnake with my eyes closed, turned it off, and went to bed.

Considering I'm juggling knives and guns everyday all day, that saw becomes routine, which it certainly isn't. I don't even let my employee run the thing.

Gotta respect sharp things or they'll get you.
 
Great story and as said above me you handled the situation perfectly!

Makes you think about the mundane tasks we do everyday and the inherent danger that lies within them.
 
Good story, Misanthropist. Like you inferred, it's never expected, that's why it's an "accident". You done good!
 
StretchNM said:
Good story, Misanthropist. Like you inferred, it's never expected, that's why it's an "accident". You done good!
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No it was an incident caused by many factors, if the investigation was done correctly then hopefully they identified what went wrong and are taking steps to correct it.

Misanthropist should not feel guilty, but as he pointed out in his original post he did make some errors, as did the injured party.

That is the normal story of most incidents, a string of events that result in an injury. Usually there are many contributing factors such as training, procedure, expierence ect.

Good to see that Misanthropist was able to mitigate the incidents severity by responding properly
 
Great post Misanthropist. I've heard behavior based safety (BBS) experts who are less eloquent on the topic than you just were.

I've heard so many accident stories that were a result of assumptions leading to missed communication.
 
Having been an EMT Ive seen my share of freak accidents. Plus Ive been to ER myself a couple of times. Now , that Im older and wiser Im a safety nut. My job now includes servicing restaraunt fire suppresion hood systems. Ive seen the "owner" of the bussiness place his center of gravity over hot cooking oil. I refuse to do this and keep telling him its just a matter of time until he gets third degree burns. All he sees is dollars. I had one restaraunt owner kick me out of the kitchen because I refused to place myself in danger. Safety first, always.
 
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