IF ANYONE IS EVER INJURED AROUND YOUR PUMP

So you get to work early after a full nights sleep. Check your pump out before you leave the yard and do the DOT pre trip and arrive on the job 15 min early. It is going to be a good day. The job is wide open spaces and the ground is solid. You may have over done the dunnage for the soil conditions but hey, what the hell, you had time. Check your safety strap to make sure that it is secure and you are ready to rock and roll. 250 yard slab and then 12 columns, all right.

And then something happens and the hose man is lying on the ground, out like a light; what do you do now?

Call dispatch and report the injury
If you have a phone with a camera, or any other way to take pictures DO IT.
DEMAND that someone from your company or insurance company get to the job right now.
Make a note of the time of the accident on the job ticket.
DO NOT MAKE ANY STATEMENTS OR DISCUSS THE ACCIDENT WITH ANYONE.
Ask others what they saw
Get names of REAL witnesses
Do NOT move your pump
Make NO STATEMENTS TO ANYONE
Do NOT “guess” out loud about what may have happened
THINK – THINK about exactly what was going on and what it was that had just gone on before the fellow hit the ground.
Develop a time-line for that day up to and including the time of the accident; this includes EVERY DETAIL you can remember
Do NOT talk to anyone on the job about the accident. It is ok to ask, Do NOT give any opinions
Give a complete, accurate, detailed report to your supervisor when he arrives
Hope he has enough sense to NOT GUESS OUT LOUD about what happened, and make NO statements
If a policeman or any safety official asks you what happened respectfully inform them that they need to talk to your boss or say that you would rather think about it before saying anything. They may not like it but they will understand
Hope your boss has enough sense to NOT make any statements
As bad as you feel about what happened, don’t apologize. Don’t say anything.

Accidents do not have to happen, ever, they are always avoidable.

If you have done all that you can in terms of the above listed items, you have just done your company and your insurance company a valuable service. When you have returned to the yard find a quiet space and sit down and write as detailed report as you can about the events of that day, starting with what time you got up and what you had for breakfast. Details, details, details.

An injured person has an entire year to file a legal action against you and your company. He is, during that time, getting advice from everyone he ever knew. He may have been a nice guy until he began thinking about retirement on the beach with your money, your insurance company’s money and your company’s money. He may still be a nice guy and deserves to be compensated.

He may also be a victim of someone else’s stupidity and in that case he SHOULD BE entitled to damages. Not everyone that ends up in court is a gold digger, many of these people deserve to be compensated for their pain and suffering, it is only fair that it happens. The trick is making sure that he receives the money from the guilty party. That is why your attention and actions after the accident are so important. If you can show a jury that you were not at fault you will go home free and clear.

You have a lot of responsibility as an operator. Much of the time it seems as if you have more responsibility than control. That is probably the case. You must always do your best with what you have.

I can not overemphasize the importance of doing it right. Doing it right is what you are paid to do. When you are not playing by the rules you are putting yourself and your company at risk. That risk does not end when someone is injured, it intensifies. When someone is injured when interacting with your pump SOMEONE was NOT doing it right. If that someone was not you then every thing you say and do after the fact becomes even more important. If you were 100% in compliance and someone is injured that means that someone else was making the mistakes. Do not let your emotions over an injured co-worker jeopardize the well being of your company.

Be professional, be helpful, be courteous, be quiet.

Written By Bob Sanderson