Extremely close call

The Baron was knocked down by a speeding fork lift truck at work at lunchtime yesterday.

He was thrown a good fifteen feet through the air when it hit him (at about thirty miles an hour) and landed on his side, by the side of the truck where it finally had come to a stop.

He was knocked out on impact.

When he finally came to, he was taken, not to hospital as one might expect, but up to the first aid room to sign various pieces of paperwork. After an hour and a half they finally took him to hospital, which is where I was called from.

After lots of tests, X-rays and observation he was released late night. He has whiplash, scrapes from the forks, mild concussion, and severe bruising around his bones on the right side (which took the impact). He is understandably very sore, and is having a lot of trouble getting around.

He has been signed off indefinitely to heal. The leniency (trust me, this is leniency as opposed to common decency) comes from the fact it was the worst accident to date at the warehouse (and was also witnessed by a large number of staff) and that the driver of the fork lift truck was on his final warning for speeding.

Guess what he is most pissed off about?

The fact he has nary a scrape on his body! There are a couple of scrapes on his back, and that is it.

The doctor said that he must be made of steel to have walked away with so few injuries. It's true. He's never broken a bone in his body, so why start now when you get knocked over?

Very scary few hours.

Apologies for the drama. I wasn't given any information over the phone other than the name of the hospital and the fact that he had been knocked down, and of course I immediately assumed the worst.

Comments

Phew!

I would have been out of my mind -- and irritated that I couldn't get some kind of information.

To my knowledge, I have never broken a bone, either -- I have had a sprain or two . . .

LOL at the Baron not having a thing to show for his "battle" with the forklift. I'm sure he'll show some bruises soon.

I'm happy to hear that he walked away from that scene, really. Will the forklift operator be fired, as s/he has been warned many times?
Evil One | Email | Homepage | 01.23.05 - 7:33 am | #

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He has been stripped of his licence......and may be sacked. I imagine he will have a disciplinary, and he may just be transferred to duties that do not require driving.
DMouse | Email | Homepage | 01.23.05 - 8:16 am | #

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What a relief that he's ok and escaped relatively unscathed! If he can be annoyed that he doesn't have more visible badges of honor from this, he's going to be ok. Sounds like he and The Boy really are kindred sprits.
Kimmer | Email | Homepage | 01.23.05 - 8:24 am | #

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Phew! I am so glad to hear he escaped with so few injuries. I was so worried for you. Are you sure the Baron isn't superman?
Sarah | Email | Homepage | 01.23.05 - 1:11 pm | #

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Oh my Gid! What did they make him sign? Whatever it was, it's unlikley to be binding, as he was concussed. It sounds to me as though they're shit-scared he'll sue; they may well have made him sign a disclaimer. I recommend making an appointment with his manager to find out what the basis of his leave is- will he actually be fully paid for as long as it takes? Now would be a very good time to lean heavily on the company, while they're still scared.
I am am actually absolutely mystified as to why they kept him for an hour an half before calling the ambulance- that should be actionable by itself. I suppose they were trying to sort out the admin before letting th hospital take him, but he might have had brain damage for all they knew.
I hope he's feeling better soon.
e | Email | Homepage | 01.23.05 - 5:06 pm | #

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Thanks.

He remembers being breathlysed, and then refusing to write a statement because he couldn't hold a pen or see clearly.

Other than that he isn't too sure what they got him to do. He has a meeting set up with his manager and union rep (to sort out and hopefully make a complaint), and is also going to get the CCTV footage.
DMouse | Email | Homepage | 01.24.05 - 2:36 am | #

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He was breathalysed? Surely they were doing the wrong guy?
e | Email | Homepage | 01.24.05 - 9:19 am | #

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PS: I reckon his company probably broke most of their own Health and Safety Regulations by with-holding treament from him when he was clearly injured. They could easily have got the hospital to do a blood sample if they were worried he'd been drinking.
e | Email | Homepage | 01.24.05 - 9:20 am | #

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I'm glad that it was nothing serious. But damn, his company really needs to get their priorities straight.

I hope he is feeling better soon.
Stacy | Email | Homepage | 01.24.05 - 11:15 pm | #

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Oy...sorry to hear aboutthe Baron.
Snapper | Email | Homepage | 01.25.05 - 6:41 pm | #

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