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It didn't have to happen Holly
Higgins
November 30, 2007
If you haven’t read the recent
sensationalized story or seen the interview
on NBC’s Today Show, I think the headline
pretty much says it all, “ S.C. man cut off
own arm with pocket knife after hand got
caught in farm equipment! “
According to Sampson Parker of Camden S.C.,
his hand became entangled when he tried to
remove a cornstalk stuck in the harvester,
“I went up with my hand, and the roller that
shucks the corn grabbed my glove and pulled
my hand into the rollers.” Mr. Parker
later admitted “It really wasn't the corn
picker's fault. It was my fault. It was just
a mistake I made.” Of course it wasn’t the
corn picker’s fault; we all know that the
corn picker didn’t grab his glove anymore
than a train jumps off the tracks, chases
down a vehicle and crashes over it. He
stuck his hand in a running machine, the
corn picker did exactly what it was designed
to do. Machines don’t have a brain to think
or determine possible outcomes, but we
certainly do.
I was disappointed to find that between all
the news articles and TV appearances there
wasn’t anything about how this horrifying
situation could have been prevented, how
absolutely easy it would have been to
completely avoid. Many people who survive a
farm accident report that they knew how to
do the activity safely, but just this once,
decided to ignore a safety rule because they
were in a hurry or fatigued.
Mr. Parker is blessed to have survived his
ordeal to tell the story, During his
recuperation and probably every day for the
rest of his life, he will have plenty of
time to think about the most basic safety
rules when operating farm machinery.
* Keep shields in place
* Make sure implements are lowered,
power is disengaged and the engine shut
off
before getting off.
* Adopt a “No Rider” policy on tractors
and other farm equipment
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