took a chainsaw to the face

[pdqdl]

I just make damn sure that my hand will hit the chain brake before the chain gets to me. Sometimes working close and to the left, it's easy to have that 200t safety bar above your left hand.

Don't do it!

BTW, many years ago I had a lawn worker carved up in the face much like this original post. He was running a 24" bar on a big powerful saw without a chain brake right next to a chainlink fence. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

(in my defense, I told him to take the little Stihl 009 to do that job; not the Pioneer farm saw with the 24" bar. The assignment was to cut the weed trees out of the fence fabric. Being an 18 year old puppy, he wanted to take the big manly saw to do big manly work, so he didn't follow my instructions.)

 

[Zero Gravity]

Fences!!! good point
ZG

 

[freeweight]

damn ,you know the weird thing is i was gonna post a thread about somthing out climber told/showed me the other day

guy i went to school with had this very thng happen bout two weeks ago it caught himabout 3in about the left canine went almost to the botom right canine ,terrible how a chain rips

dont know alot of info will try and get the pic

 

[WillyStDruid]

Things I learned from this thread:

1. Never mess with the rakers on a topping saw.

2. Never cut above your head or near your head.

3. Whether your a "sub", run your own business or you're an employee make sure you have some sort of insurance. Captain Obvious: Tree Work is Dangerous. Despite every safety precaution, accidents can happen. You need some sort of insurance to provide for yourself and your family if something bad happens.

There's no doubt that this guy would be viewed as an employee if scrutinized by the IRS. They have a checklist of 10 or so questions to determine Independent Contractor vs. Employee. If his boss gave him a time to show up to do this job, gave him any instruction on what to do for this job, or dictated an hourly rate of pay, this guy was an employee.

That aside, what if this accident happened at MonkeyMan's job? Most owner operated tree guys opt out of coverage for themselves when they get worker's comp. If you run your own show you absolutely must have a good life insurance policy and short and long term disability and at the very least a catastrophic health insurance policy on yourself.

You should have it on anyone doing work for you too, just in case. Unless you can sleep at night knowing that your making money off people's backs who put their life on the line and are suffering financially because they got hurt on your job.

 

[monkeymanjoe]

Happy holidays to all!

I know its been a long time since I have been on this site, (I think it is because I don't want to remember that day). I would like to say hello to everyone, and wish everyone a very happy holiday! I am doing good and I hope everyone else is also.
For those of you who know the whole story about the "man" that I was working for I just want to let you know that he is still up to his no good, scheming ways. He is like an annoying, ugly cold sore that keeps coming back. Just when I start to forget all about him.... He's baaack!
Shoot me a message.

 

[sgt7546]

Glad your here alive and well. Have a great holiday.

 

[tbow388]

Healed

Hope you are all healed up nicely.

Merry Christmas.

 

[Ductape]

I don't want to sound morbid, but I'm curious how things turned out? Lots of scarring, or lookin pretty much back to normal. Glad to hear you are well, and in good spirits.

 

[Blakesmaster]

I know its been a long time since I have been on this site, (I think it is because I don't want to remember that day). I would like to say hello to everyone, and wish everyone a very happy holiday! I am doing good and I hope everyone else is also.
For those of you who know the whole story about the "man" that I was working for I just want to let you know that he is still up to his no good, scheming ways. He is like an annoying, ugly cold sore that keeps coming back. Just when I start to forget all about him.... He's baaack!
Shoot me a message.

Good to hear you're doing well, Joe. I saw you know who once this year, that shiny, new 75' 4X4 Highranger he bought 3 or 4 years back looked like a rusted out pile already. Sad to see such beautiful equipment so abused. Stay safe out there and check in from time to time if you can.

 

[Youngbuck20]

First time seeing this thread. Hope things have gotten better. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

 

[Normsworld]

Happy to hear your on the mend , Merry Christmas .

 

[046]

I know its been a long time since I have been on this site, (I think it is because I don't want to remember that day). I would like to say hello to everyone, and wish everyone a very happy holiday! I am doing good and I hope everyone else is also.
For those of you who know the whole story about the "man" that I was working for I just want to let you know that he is still up to his no good, scheming ways. He is like an annoying, ugly cold sore that keeps coming back. Just when I start to forget all about him.... He's baaack!
Shoot me a message.

so did workman comp pay for your injuries/med bills? this is a classical case of how different USA's system for taking care of injured/sick folks vs Canada's healthcare system. which costs a fraction of America's healthcare, while delivering higher quality results.

 

[bassett]

This is still a very relevant thread. Everybody should read it once a year. I have come close several times, but it has always been with over eager helpers. I would turn around and there would be a helpers arm in the saw path. It really makes me think about proper running saws and methods. I never blip the throttle between cuts and I make sure the idle is set correctly. These two behaviors have prevented similar injuries.
ZG

I'm glad I've come across it too. It's a sobering reminder of how dangerous this profession can be ...

This is a story I read last year:

Tree surgeon Tom Connelly almost beheaded himself with chainsaw | Mail Online