Boy's arm severed by washing machine...

[daveamkrayoguy]

Hope none of us are typing w/ ONE HAND from any such injurie

OK, this brings memories of how my reading in the old in CONSUMER REPORTS magazines, that the Maytag washer's tub took the longest to stop...

I, at the same time, remember hearing a story of a man who reached into a fast-moving washer tub, (losing an arm & the machine most likely splattered w/ his blood, as well as the just-washed laundry inside getting dirtied up inside), & my mom having a 'Tag (& somehow relating the theory, while not knowing the arm may have been snagged along a garment along the side of the tub at the time) from this era, too...

While I don't know if the man in this story had been suffering the injury of a defective product, been careless (as this boy we're reading about), or maybe risking a "personal injury" (remembering grandma's GE's lid instructions "limited" as they were at least having the statement; "TO PREVENT PERSONAL INJURY,"...) in order to win a frivolous lawsuit...

But a product is only as safe as your proper usage of it & watching your kids, as well as educating them on the inherent dangers of machinery...

The blender also comes to mind of being a hazardous appliance w/ no safety switch & accidents likely to happen there from mis-use (my mom refused to buy me a real one at a tender age that I was fascinated with blenders & unfortunately had broken one--maybe TWO--toy one/s I had been given)...

In which case, I refuse to plug mine in until I have all the ingredients of what I'm blending loaded in & the lid completely on... And when my blending is completely done, I'll usually just take the glass right off its base...

There are probably old food processors, too, lacking the safety switches activated with and/or without attachments in place, that the newer ones have...

But people, whatever the case I hope to never read about anything like this happening to any one of us (or any of our friends or relatives) here!

Be Safe!

-- Dave

 

[philr]

Dave,

One of my classmates in first grade had apparently lost a part of her finger in a blender. I couldn't figure how someone could want to touch the blade while it was running as just the sound of the motor scared me. But apparently, she was less scared than I was! She was a bright person and for some reason, I even suspected that she might have told this story to hide she had a birth defect like another classmate who had 3 tiny fingers in one of his hands.

 

[74simon]

Perhaps her neighbours should show some concern for the family rather than gossiping like fishwives!

 

I still feel terribly sorry for them. It was a very bad decision to run the machine in that condition if that were the case, but I'm sure she'll be reminded of that every time she looks at her son for the rest of her life. 

 

The question is, why had the rental company not dealt with the damaged machine? had they dragged their feet over fixing it? As she was renting it, repairs or replacement were surely their responsibility. Why would she have not contacted them as soon as it was damaged?

 

 With four young kids and a partner working in a job where you get grubby, it wouldn't take long for the washing to start piling up, and the accident happened on a Sunday - the day where mum has to make sure the kids stuff is clean for school. Had she spent the week waiting for the thing to be sorted?

 

Just speculation of course, but I'd rather give someone the benefit of the doubt rather than instantly condemn them, especially as the investigation by Trading Standards will get the whole picture in the fullness of time. 

 

[zanussi_lover]

Common Sense

She should have told her son not to touch the washing machine while it was on

i used to help my mum with the washing when i was little, but i knew that the door was locked, and i knew i shouldnt tamper with the washing machine while it was working.

The child probably forced the door open...and why wasn't the mother watching what he was doing??

 

[arbilab]

If/when the press follows up on this, please let us know.

 

[jetsystem1200]

Because the washing machine was probably the rental company's property, wouldn't the rental company be responsible for repairs? She probably didn't realise this or she wanted a broken machine! (I'm not an expert at these things by the way, so I may be wrong.)

 

[MrX]

It's a terrible accident and highly unusual too.

To be fair to washing machine manufacturers in Europe, all machines that are currently in use have serious door interlocks that will not allow the door to be opened while the machine is running.

They're either a simple bi-metalic strip lock which locks the door and requires the user to wait for about 1 to 2 minutes after the cycle before the door is released, or they are an electrically operated solenoid lock which works in conjunction with a door release button.

Many manufacturers go much further than this, with child-lock systems for the controls and with double-insulated doors to prevent any contact with hot glass surfaces.

If it's a Creda machine, it's pretty old, and I would be surprised if it were in a good state of repair. Creda machines haven't been sold in quite a long time.

I would really wonder about why someone would be renting a washing machine though. They are very cheap to buy and this is not exactly a high-end model.

The reality is that kids will occasionally do stupid things and they can be outside the control of their parents.

I wouldn't blame Creda, as their machines were definitely built to be very safe, and I don't think you can really blame the mom either. You can't control your kids to that level.

There may be some issue with whoever maintained the machine though if the lock was broken, and if they had been informed about this.