Great moments in bad judgement

Specialties Emergency

Published

Reaching under commercial lawn-mower to remove stick. Mower running. Started with 10, ended with 6.

This one dates back to 1978:

Overheard through privacy curtain in local ER - "Would you go up on the roof and get Daddy's finger..."

Mind you - I was 14, had just taken a 40 foot tumble down a cliff that required 6 rangers and about 3 hours to extricate me from, had a right wrist about the diameter of an unsliced bologna ('bout 5 inches or so) courtesy of a fractured radial and a wrist full of gravel, and what I remember most was that comment. Upon listening further - apparently Dad opted to do some DIY home repair (this was years before Home Depot, BTW) & install a rooftop swamp cooler. From the sounds of things, the situation degenerated into man vs. swamp cooler, and the cooler won that round. Didn't sound like it was ETOH-fueled, just basic XY stupidity at work.

Dad & I were both slugging it out for "stupid male of the week", and I'm pretty sure I actually won. Not sure if Dad's finger was successfully reattached, but I did manage to survive my adolescence. Just barely.

----- Dave

"My husband is an idiot."

Obviously a new wife - an experienced one would've known that instinctively! ;)

----- Dave

Specializes in Med Surg, Parish Nurse, Hospice.

My mom did the lawn mowerr thing when I was in 6th grade- am now 55. Our lawn mower had an attchment for a hose to help in cleaning the mower. Hose wan't tight and she tried to tighten it. Can still see the blood on the floor and her with her hand in a towel. She cut the tips off of several fingers on her hand. Remember her crying during the healing process. I cut the grass after that episode!

Specializes in Med Surg, Parish Nurse, Hospice.

I am sitting here laughing out loud! love some of these " accidents" Another accident that I am aware- young man decides to light farts - match to butt, burnt shorts. Luckily no injury!

Specializes in L&D, FPC, MedSurg, Ortho Trauma, ER, Onc.

Young Soldier (Gods bless Privates...) finds a training UXO (unexplored ordinance). Tries to detonate said UXO, no luck. Takes it back to camp. Tinkers with it some more. Tries again to detonate it, no luck. Dismantles it some, tinkers some more. It finally detonates, while he's holding it of course. Fortunately he had thick leather gloves on, which took a large amount of the thermal damage. One was half gone, half fused to his hand. Remarkably, he retained all his fingers but won himself a lengthy round of wound care...As he was explaining the saga during triage, he stopped at one point and said "Now that I'm saying all this it was a pretty dumb idea Ma'am..."Yes honey, yes it was.

Specializes in ED.

The RN (me) that turned around and punched the wall after a patient/bed combo rolled over right foot. Boxer's fx and great toe fx, and a worker's comp claim in the works. Wonder how that will go?

Specializes in ER.
The RN (me) that turned around and punched the wall after a patient/bed combo rolled over right foot. Boxer's fx and great toe fx, and a worker's comp claim in the works. Wonder how that will go?

Ouch!! Note to self: Always hit wall with open hand, not fist!

Isn't this job sooooo rewarding :)

Specializes in ER/SICU/Med-Surg/Ortho/Trauma/Flight.
Ouch!! Note to self: Always hit wall with open hand, not fist!Isn't this job sooooo rewarding :)
Haaaaaahaaa! I had an x-ray tech roll a portable, broke my big right toe, ed docs thought this was hilarious and wanted to resus. my toe and defib it, then they had the same tech with same portable xray my foot, as they all thought this was hilarious since I was the charge nurse, I still give those same docs hell.

Hah! I was going to make the same comment about "usually male".

Male teenager trying to explain how he "fell" onto a curtain rod, impaling it in his orifice.

Specializes in Care Coordination, MDS, med-surg, Peds.

Male teenager trying to explain how he "fell" onto a curtain rod, impaling it in his orifice. >>>

was he playing spiderman???? LOL

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
*insert object name here* inserted squarely up the butt......"I fell on it". Uh huh you have barbie dolls just littered around your house huh.

I had a patient with a carrot....they said it was an accident.......I said sure.....like you slipped and fell Butt naked in the vegetable bin.....:bugeyes: Yeah right...:smokin:

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