Man dies after getting caught in industrial laser cutter

Man dies after getting caught in metal cutting machine | Boston.com

Very sad news. This report doesn't make clear how he was hurt, but from context I'm guessing he was caught by moving elements and not burned by the laser.

I also wonder if there was something done wrong when trying to stabilize him prior to the ride to the hospital. If he was conscious and speaking when the responders arrived, I'd have hoped he was capable of getting to the hospital in time.

If I see any further reports on this I'll update the thread.

Another source: Worker Trapped in Machinery at Industrial Metal Products in Sharon Dies - NBC1 Boston

If he was crushed the weight of the machine pretty much keeps everything together. Once it's released the patient can go downhill quickly.

Yep. I heard from an old-timer I know about a guy that got caught in between a large shaping ram and a workpiece. Someone didn't have the stop set correctly or something and the guy foolishly got in a pinch point. The square headed bolts (probably 1.25" diameter, maybe 3" or 4" long sticking out) holding the tool went right through him and jammed against the steel on the other side. These are big boys and IIRC this was a 14" square ram Morton. Crushed him good and the ram wouldn't back up, was stuck. They called ambulance and had on-site doctor (this was at Blaw-Knox way back when). Both said he'd probably go quick once they got him loose, so they called his wife to come say goodbye before they broke him loose. She did. And then he did. Didn't make it to the hospital.

eKretz said:

Both said he'd probably go quick once they got him loose, so they called his wife to come say goodbye before they broke him loose. She did. And then he did. Didn't make it to the hospital.

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That's the stuff of nightmares. It might have been kinder to let the poor guy go right away, and spare the wife that sight. Ugh...

Crushing is one of the most dangerous industrial injuries, as is suspension syndrome (hanging in a harness) if faced with someone whose been hanging or squeezed get them rolled up in a ball asap, knees under chin, tight, releasing them should be done under supervision, taking the pressure off will kill faster than the pressure.
Suspension trauma
Mark

Not having been there, but dealing with safety stuff for a lot of years, I would almost bet you that somebody bypassed the safety equipment. If it was very big equipment, like which is sounds, there would have been a cage around it with an interlocking door.

I've just seen it happen too many times before. It's sad, that so many people that work in shops don't realize that there are a lot of things that can kill you. I used to tell my guys that their goal everyday should be to go home at night.
JR

eKretz said:

Yep. I heard from an old-timer I know about a guy that got caught in between a large shaping ram and a workpiece. Someone didn't have the stop set correctly or something and the guy foolishly got in a pinch point. The square headed bolts (probably 1.25" diameter, maybe 3" or 4" long sticking out) holding the tool went right through him and jammed against the steel on the other side. These are big boys and IIRC this was a 14" square ram Morton. Crushed him good and the ram wouldn't back up, was stuck. They called ambulance and had on-site doctor (this was at Blaw-Knox way back when). Both said he'd probably go quick once they got him loose, so they called his wife to come say goodbye before they broke him loose. She did. And then he did. Didn't make it to the hospital.

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Milland said:

That's the stuff of nightmares. It might have been kinder to let the poor guy go right away, and spare the wife that sight. Ugh...

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What a tragic tale.

If he was conscious it was likely his request to say goodbye to his wife?
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plastikdreams said:

If he was crushed the weight of the machine pretty much keeps everything together. Once it's released the patient can go downhill quickly.

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A friend fell down in turn one at Ontario and got run over several times ... luckily they didn't touch his leathers at the track. Unzipped him at the hospital and all the broken ribs immediately punctured his lungs.

Lucky boy. After Salt Walther the local hospital became extremely capable ...

I've heard that same story but it was a guy getting caught between two rail cars in the coupler. When they pulled it apart....

gregormarwick said:

If he was conscious it was likely his request to say goodbye to his wife?

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[ghoulish humor]

Maybe he didn't like the wife?

[/ghoulish humor]

Over the years I have watched the evolution of safety measures. People tried dual buttons, operators taped one down, timers that required pushing both within a short interval, light beams that had to be broken simultaneously, handcuffs with chains to switches (people tied them off) and on and on. The modern light screens look like the best solution, but I wonder how long it will be before someone finds a way around them.

I worked in a mold shop where they were having a problem with molded parts hanging in the mold. The machine had a sliding cage but the operator held the microswitch closed with one hand and reached in with the other to knock the part loose. Along with that, he was carrying on a conversation with the man behind him. The inevitable happened and he lost all but the thumb on the hand. A plant manager who saw that should have shut the machine down instantly, but this manager was the sort that cared more about making his production quotas.

I read an account by an EMT about a man who somehow got crushed in a subway. He was conscious until they released him, then died before anything could be done for him.

I guess anyone who has been in industry for long could tell several beers worth of similar stories.

Bill

9100 said:

The modern light screens look like the best solution, but I wonder how long it will be before someone finds a way around them.

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They raised it up so it was out of the way. The supervisor was so stupid, he let the get away with it. When that happens, the company is at fault. So many times people look the other way when they see safety violations. Just plain dumb.
JR

Yes, machines are dangerous, and until AI gets to be really prevalent/integrated, they don't care if a meatbag is in the way of their operation. It's one of the reasons I'm apprehensive about fully autonomous cars, I just don't see the AI/sensors being up to the application yet, not to mention imperfect software and implementation.

[Edit: Woot, 5000 posts! I'm now up to 1.25 Diamonds!]

This is so sad it hurts to think about it. I have him and his family in my prayers along with the first responders who are certainly traumatized.

I would assume the guy that got crushed was probably told he might not make it when he was released. I would have asked to say goodbye one last time to my wife too if it were me.

I also heard from this same old-timer about the time that a guy got cut in half on the 24' VBM. Since this was such a large machine there was a machinist and a helper working together and when break time came up they shut the machine down mid-cut. After break the machinist came back and didn't see the helper around anywhere so he went to start up the machine and continue the cut, not realizing that the helper had crawled into an opening in the side of the workpiece to check something in the meantime. When the machine started, it caught the guy between the ram and the work, tore him right in half. He obviously didn't get a chance to say goodbye to anyone.

Also was present when a guy almost died at one of the large shops I worked in - this was a millwright that was working on some disassembly on a rolling mill stand. They were disassembling the mill stand and as they removed rollers they were being placed on a rack for cleaning and disassembly. This guy got in between rolls with no blocking and while he had his back turned one of them rolled on the rack and crushed him into another at chest level. One of the guys got the things separated and a couple of them lifted him up out of there - said his chest felt like jelly. He got to the hospital and they managed to save him, but he wouldn't set foot in the shop again after that. He came to pick up his toolbox after he had recovered something like 6 months later and he wouldn't even walk into the shop.

Another guy - don't ask me how he was dumb enough to do this - got his thumb lopped off running a planer. I was there for that one. This particular planer had an air-lift clapper that lifted the tool on the return stroke but it was not working, so we normally used a sort of broom handle hinge with a wire attached to one of the clamp bolts to lift the tool on the return stroke. Anyway, for some reason this idiot decided to lift the clapper by hand and didn't get his thumb out before the cut stroke started. The clapper removed his thumb guillotine-style when the tool started into the work. Still don't know why he wasn't using the broom handle setup.

eKretz said:

Still don't know why he wasn't using the broom handle setup.

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Maybe he'd had a bad experience with a witch?

Glug said:

Maybe he'd had a bad experience with a witch?

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Nahh broom handles are for floor sweeping apprentices!

A guy died here about 6 years ago running a production laser. Stuck his head into the sheet loader for unknown reasons and the machine set a sheet down on his head. I've heard varying accounts of what actually happened. For sure a light curtain or other safety device was not working. I've heard it was disabled by the company. I've heard it was disabled by the victim. I've hear speculation that it may have been a suicide.

The answers probably died with the operator. OSHA dropped the hammer on the company, but they continued operation. I'm thinking they found plenty of violations, but no smoking gun.


My mother was a paramedic. She said forklift accidents were the worst. Guys would be pinned and when they moved the machine they lost the patient. She saw several in here career.

The worst workplace death I've heard of was a man who was just walking in an aisle near a large hydraulic press. A line carrying God knows how much pressure blew and tore him up pretty badly. Apparently hydraulic oil is very toxic in the blood stream. The combination of the trauma and the blood poisoning must have been agonizing.

Be careful out there!

ewlsey said:

OSHA dropped the hammer on the company,

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About twice a year they wash the windows here. You'll hear a clunk thump bang bang and look out the window, there's a guy sitting in a loop of rope with a bucket and a squeegee. Thirty story building.

I'm all in favor of OSHA when the mine owners prop up the thing with 2x2's but when the operators do something entirely idiotic, well hell. It's more than ridiculous. In fact maybe it's counter-productive, it gives people a false sense of security. Then Reality strikes for the soft white underbelly ...