A Tragic Lesson

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dusty
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Post by dusty »

Sue??? Why should anyone be allowed to sue Yale. She was an adult. Apparently an intelligent adult. A student at Yale. Doing a senior project on a potentially dangerous machine. She apparently had long loose hair that got entangled. She should not have gone there alone. She should have tied back her hair. Yale did not cause this. She did.

If I get my tie caught in the lathe - should I be able to sue Shopsmith?

It is sad but it is not a lawsuit.
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
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dusty
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Post by dusty »

Sad? Yes. Lawsuit? - No.
"Making Sawdust Safely"
Dusty
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JPG
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Post by JPG »

dusty wrote:Sad? Yes. Lawsuit? - No.
Preventable - Yes:(
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╟JPG ╢
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Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
justplaingoofy
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Post by justplaingoofy »

Stall and continuos torque is possible, but not very likely IMO.
Having been around metal working for ohh...35 years now, I can see a possible cause of the axphixiation would be:
She was working on something; turned it off and while it was still spinning, leaned in to have a closer look.
Hair gets caught.
From here, there are two possibilities.
A) Head slams into chuck/work causing instant unconsiousness, body goes limp, and then results in the choking, or,
B) the same thing, only no unconsiousness, she could not unwind her hair, then, just panic until she blacks out...death.
Either way, an awful and needless way to go.
I would like to see the OSHA accident report on this one, if there is one.
All too often, people operate machinery who are in no way qualified to do so. I wonder if that is the case here?

This actually happened to a young fellow at a screw machine shop I worked at years ago. He had hair down to his waist that I told him time and time and time and time again to wrap up into his hat while around the machines.
One day the inevitable happened...he got too close to some 2-1/4" HEX 12L spinning about 600rpm...30HP motor...skin don't stall 30HP 3-phase folks.
He was..."lucky"?...and only lost his entire scalp.
Yep...across the eyes, over to the top of one ear, back around his neckline, to the bottom of the other ear, and then a diagonal tear from there to the other eye...yep, his forehead skin was off too.
13 hours of surgery to put it back on...and to this day hasn't been back in a shop that I know of.

Work smart...work safe!...always think ahead to possible hazards...take precautions and/or steps to prevent injury.
Be pro-active, not re-active when setting up and operating any equipment.
Understand that no matter how fast you think your reaction time is, it is ALWAYS slower than crap hitting the fan. You will always be too late.

I like this motto, it should be on every piece of equipment sold everywhere.
THIS MACHINE HAS NO BRAIN...YOU MUST USE YOURS.
"Don't Be So Open Minded That Your Brains Fall Out"

1959 SS Mark V w/all attachments; 2 Craftsman 100 Table Saws; Delta 40-A Multiplex RAS; 6" Jet Jointer; Delta HomeCraft Floor and Bench Drill Presses; Dremel Everything; Rigid Dust Collector; and a vast collection of hand tools.
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JPG
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Post by JPG »

justplaingoofy wrote: . . .
THIS MACHINE HAS NO BRAIN...YOU MUST USE YOURS.
I like that!:)

I also like the 'likelihood' of your possible scenario!:cool:
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╟JPG ╢
╚═══╝

Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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