I got shocked

RopeShield said:
Hardest thing to do is to walk away from these to close for comfort.Put a man on the moon but shielding for workers is a lot to ask for. Try to remember the pain, to fear the pain to avoid the pain all.
Thanks for sharing and happy you alive
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In my humble opinion, shielding workers is not something that one humbly begs permission to do; it, and the costs associated with it, are something to be insisted upon. No negotiation.

It is a moral hazard situation. It is not the customer that will lose their life, it's you or a coworker. If the customer learns that absolutely nobody will do the work without proper protections in place, they'll either do the work or they won't, but nobody will die trying.

No arborist without an insulated work platform and proper high voltage protection gear and training belongs anywhere near distribution voltages.

I've seen photographs that literally made me want to pass out, of the progressive and absolutely devastating damage that high voltage does to a man. The photos showed a guy that had high voltage pass through his body and exit out his heel. First evidence was only a small pinprick looking exit wound. Electricity burns you from the inside out. Over the course of the following few days, this man's leg swelled up to about four times normal size. Turned bright red with skin flaking off. Then blackened and charred looking. They did successive amputations in an attempt to save his life, all to no avail.

If I haven't made myself clear, do not allow yourself or any part of any tree you are working on to get within ten feet of distribution voltages, without the proper gear and training mentioned above. I would bet that it is, in fact, absolutely illegal to do so.

This does raise the possibility of having a specialized service with much higher rates for the work, to allow for proper training and equipment.

Other than that, stay away.

Tim
 
frashdog said:
Sorry for all the questions.

What do you think the path of energy flow was, that allowed you to experience it?
Reads like you were "on" the path, as opposed to "the" path.

Was your hand still touching the piece?

How far from the wires were you?

Thanks
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I didnt feel like it passed thru me, there was no evidence of a path thru me. I am unsure how the energy flowed.

It seems like I was letting go of the piece as it brushed the wires, and as the hinge broke. Maybe the path was down thru the tree and that's why I just got the jolt?

As I was standing on the stick I would say I was ten ft from the wires. That's why I was willing to do the work. That was the closest point in either of the trees I had to do that day. I was the one who bid the job, and mentioned the wires on the job sheet. I talked to the groundlings about them over the course of the morning. They were very present in my mind. I simply misjudged the distance of the falling top from them.

I feel my mistake was letting go of control in the situation. As soon as I made the back cut and it started falling it was out of my control. If I had called for a pole pruner and taken ten extra minutes (max) I would have remained in control of my safety. And not added an incredible amount of time to my day. I need to have the presence of mind to see that in the moment. Just before the incident I would have said I was not taking a risk. But if someone had suggested the pole pruner I think I would have taken it. I need to be the one suggesting those extra control steps at times when they are warranted. I need to think about that one action (felling the top) in the context of my wife telling my kids I am not coming home. Or everybody is going to have to care of me now because I blew off both my arms.

It is hard to recognize all of the possible lifetime ramifications of a single instant or choice. So I am encouraging myself to just take a breath and try to widen my gaze when I am about to do something where I will relinquish control of whether I live or die. For money no less.
 
Mac, just in case I have not expressed it in the middle of all of my ranting, I am really glad that you are ok, too. Now, back to Singing Tree.

Tim

P.S. Thanks for posting this thread in the first place. It also occurs to me that something as simple as a thick pair of those cut resistant kevlar/rubber chainsaw gloves, might provide some degree of protection from an inadvertent contact with voltage. Not rated like that, but I can't help but think they might work, at least in a limited way.
 
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CreTree said:
Mac, go get your heart checked out at the doc. I've known two guys that had strokes after a conductor incident. One lived. No joke.
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CreTree raises a good point. I had forgotten about this. I think this evaluation is supposed to happen soon after the incident. I'm not sure whether or not they can still collect good data long after, but it is still a question that needs to be asked. I think they look for a change in blood chemistry that reveals whether damage has been done or not. I do not remember what the next steps are if they do find a problem. There is probably a standard treatment protocol established.

CreeTree is right about this, I believe.

Tim
 
CreTree said:
Mac, go get your heart checked out at the doc. I've known two guys that had strokes after a conductor incident. One lived. No joke.
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How long after the contact did they have a stroke? My wife had a stroke about 6 months after we were hit by lightning in our car.
 
There are more links within the article I posted above, one of which is about a test called Complete Blood Count. I think this might be the testing I was thinking that they would do to a patient received into an emergency room for treatment and analysis of high voltage electric shock.

I do not know whether or not such a test would still be useful at this stage of the game in your case. That would be for a doctor to decide.

http://www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/complete-blood-count-cbc


Tim
 
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