Your worst theatre injury
- Thread starterTechiegirly
- Start date
Fall arrest gear. Extremely Practical...as long as you are falling more than a few meters! But it could have been useful had you then fallen off said beam and continued your painful decent. (Is that right?(decent)(pun intended)
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bradleywolak
Member
My worst injury was when we were working on a show last spring. The set consisted of flats about 15 feet high surrounding the stage. Well one of my D*uche friends starting rocking one of the flats and a drill i had left up there came down and hit me on the head. Luckily the battery was the only thing that hit me. I was out for a couple of days, but then right back to work. The Show must go on!
After reading the many injuries in this thread, I have to wonder how many of your schools or employers have set procedures for blood borne pathogens? Did you know that the three most common pathogens are Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV, none of which have cures? Do you know how to protect yourself from contracting these pathogens?
DRU
Active Member
I was cutting a piece of old wood down on the table saw when something shot back at my arm, blowing it back. I only had a little prick that was bleeding on the inside of my arm, and it was a little sore, and I thought nothing of it while I cleaned up, until I noticed I couldn't bend my elbow of that arm. I decided to go to the hospital to get it looked at. They took me into the x-ray room and took two x-rays of my arm. The x-ray tech then asked me to come and look at the results. The table saw had picked up a hidden 1-1/4" brad nail in the wood and had shot it perfectly into the crux of my elbow. Three days later (because I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon) I had it removed, and now I have a lovely scar on the inside of my right elbow.
Not long afterward, my parents came to see the show and brought me a "get well" gift. It was a magnetic wand used to find nails in old wood.
Not long afterward, my parents came to see the show and brought me a "get well" gift. It was a magnetic wand used to find nails in old wood.
I don't about others but I do and have. I had a HIV possitive rigger that I had to treat before. Whenever administering first-aid I assume the worse, that way there is no problem.
tjrobb
Well-Known Member
RE: Blood borne pathogens.
We have no set rules, but Matt (my super.) and I indeed assume the worst with ANY bodily fluid. We have nitrile (medical) gloves that we keep on hand for just this, we put all contaminated materials in a double-bag, and we soak the affected area (anything that can't be tossed) with a cleaner rated to kill HIV, AIDS, and other nasties. With few exceptions, staff are asked to never handle cleanup themselves and let us (maint.) take care of it.
We have no set rules, but Matt (my super.) and I indeed assume the worst with ANY bodily fluid. We have nitrile (medical) gloves that we keep on hand for just this, we put all contaminated materials in a double-bag, and we soak the affected area (anything that can't be tossed) with a cleaner rated to kill HIV, AIDS, and other nasties. With few exceptions, staff are asked to never handle cleanup themselves and let us (maint.) take care of it.
A few wide crown staples through my finger & nail Stapled my finger to a flat once.
But the worst was working on the Joe Girardi show carrying ply-wood to the table saw & some noob jumped on the band saw I stopped so i didn't knock him into the band saw, but the ply-wood didn't & ripped my bicep tendon
But the worst was working on the Joe Girardi show carrying ply-wood to the table saw & some noob jumped on the band saw I stopped so i didn't knock him into the band saw, but the ply-wood didn't & ripped my bicep tendon
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jglodeklights
Well-Known Member
Hhmmm, I have a three way tie. Cracked (but not removed) a thumbnail at the cuticle when I hit something with it while hammering (was not the hammer). Dropped a mini-fridge on my ankle giving me a nice gash (was delivering them to our dorm housing during a summer festival), and getting carpal tunnel in both wrists during same festival, requiring the wearing of braces on both.
Mine sound delightfully boring.
Mine sound delightfully boring.
MPowers
Well-Known Member
Back in 19#*#$ when I was in grad school, a week or so ago I grommeted my thumb. Working very late at night, on a tight deadline, notice a thread here on safety issues???? The LD and I were making a series of one-off sculpted, shaped borders. The theatre department had acquired some commercial upholstery machines that punched the holes and then set grommets in webbing and curtains etc. The machines were mechanical/manual "trip hammer" machines. That is, you stepped on a pedal, firmly, which forced a punch or grommet setter up against a strong spring, and at the top of the travel, tripped it or released it "all at once". We were putting webbing across the top of several "teasers" made of burlap, erosion cloth and "other" added elements. Joan was aligning/assembling and punching. I was setting the grommets. My job involved placing a "high hat" (the part of a grommet that looks like an old stove pipe top hat) on the spindle, laying the punched fabric-webbing-whatever over the spindle on top of the high hat, placing a brass washer on the spindle and then stomping the treadle which brought the hammer down and set the grommet in a single blow.
As I said, late at night, long hours working on the show, my process became .... High hat, webbing assembly, washer, stomp, High hat, webbing assembly, washer, stomp, High hat, webbing assembly, washer, stomp, High hat, webbing assembly, thumb, washer, stomp,.......... Joan.... I have a problem....! We cut a 4" semi circle out of the teaser webbing and headed to the U of I Med School Emergency center. They had problems understanding why we were working at 2 AM and why my thumb was in the machinery and why I was attached to piece of burlap with a brass grommet..... Any way, forty some years later, my thumb still has a half moon scar on it.
I grommeted my thumb. Working very late at night, on a tight deadline, notice a thread here on safety issues???? The LD and I were making a series of one-off sculpted, shaped borders. The theatre department had acquired some commercial upholstery machines that punched the holes and then set grommets in webbing and curtains etc. The machines were mechanical/manual "trip hammer" machines. That is, you stepped on a pedal, firmly, which forced a punch or grommet setter up against a strong spring, and at the top of the travel, tripped it or released it "all at once". We were putting webbing across the top of several "teasers" made of burlap, erosion cloth and "other" added elements. Joan was aligning/assembling and punching. I was setting the grommets. My job involved placing a "high hat" (the part of a grommet that looks like an old stove pipe top hat) on the spindle, laying the punched fabric-webbing-whatever over the spindle on top of the high hat, placing a brass washer on the spindle and then stomping the treadle which brought the hammer down and set the grommet in a single blow. As I said, late at night, long hours working on the show, my process became .... High hat, webbing assembly, washer, stomp, High hat, webbing assembly, washer, stomp, High hat, webbing assembly, washer, stomp, High hat, webbing assembly, thumb, washer, stomp,.......... Joan.... I have a problem....! We cut a 4" semi circle out of the teaser webbing and headed to the U of I Med School Emergency center. They had problems understanding why we were working at 2 AM and why my thumb was in the machinery and why I was attached to piece of burlap with a brass grommet..... Any way, forty some years later, my thumb still has a half moon scar on it.
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Dropped a source four bulb 3 inches onto a plastic table and it exploded sending glass into my neck, glad it didn't get in my eyes.
Stepped off the side off of a toolbox mounted on the front of a flatbed trailer, fell 4 feet landing luckily flat on my back. Jumped right up and no pain.
Stepped off the side off of a toolbox mounted on the front of a flatbed trailer, fell 4 feet landing luckily flat on my back. Jumped right up and no pain.
While it certainly doesn't live up to the...ahem...high standards set by some of the more experienced/actual professional members of this forum, my worst theater injury (mental damage aside) would be happened three years ago, I was pulling staples out of something (I think it was a sheet of luan or maybe a door...it's a bit fuzzy), and I managed to get my left hand with a bit of a staple, well, the next day I flew down to NOLA with my HS jazz band (I was the banjo player, not very good at then, not all that much better now) and we were playing on the steamboat Natchez, and after we finished playing our two tunes, I noticed that my hand was swelling up, not very quickly, but it was certainly getting a bit stiff...well, long story short, I'm fairly sure that it was infected from that !@#% staple, cleared it up real well the next evening with some hydrogen peroxide, and I was able to play at Preservation Hall.
My wife was helping loadout Sesame Street some years back. She was on the front of a four by four case of feeder going up the ramp. The pushers were faster than she was and they ran up the back of her leg. They thought it hung at the top of the ramp so they gave it a second hard shove. She was on crutches for a week.
i was rushing a project in the scene shop (the worst thing to do ever) and wasn't paying attention to the table saw i was working with and ended up placing my left hand straight on the blade
needless to say i've lost nerves in 3 fingers, ripped a quarter inch of muscle out of two of them, and grinded along to bones in my pinky and pointer finger...
but hey they're still attached and work fine plus i've got a hell of a story for teaching new Carps that come into my shop when talking about safety
needless to say i've lost nerves in 3 fingers, ripped a quarter inch of muscle out of two of them, and grinded along to bones in my pinky and pointer finger...
but hey they're still attached and work fine
plus i've got a hell of a story for teaching new Carps that come into my shop when talking about safety
Sony
Active Member
Not the worst I've ever done, but on Thursday I tried to jump up on the front lip of stage (it was only 2 feet high) and I missed...I don't know HOW I missed but my toe slipped off and my shin rode down the edge of the front of the stage and I landed on my other knee. I've got a huge scrape on the front of my shin and my left knee was killing me for the rest of the day. It's something I do all the time but for some reason I screwed up this one time and payed the price.
ValleyTheaterKid
Member
soooooo I was up on the weight gally at my school theater with a friend, and it was dark....very very dark. On our way down i was walking back towards the ladder down and i completely walked off the edge of the wieght gally plummeting 12 feet and 9 inches to the catwalk below......screwed up three of my fingers because my hand was slapping the ladder on the way down. my knee got cut up pretty bad cuz i landed on the steel walk....ankle was pretty shot.....and i walked it off.....thug life. lol Dont Ditch Kids. Karma strikes hard and strikes fast.
