Another reminder about the gruesome dangers of snowblowers.
While some folks opt for a snowblower in hopes of avoiding strain on their backs from shoveling, there’s potential for a different kind of injury. Dr. Kyle Martin, Medical Director at St. Mary’s Emergency Department in Madison, says severed fingers are common in the emergency rooms at this time of year.
“Some object will get caught in the auger and even with the engine off they’ll still feel at that point that is safe to try to try to reach in and get whatever is stuck in the auger out.”
It might seem like common sense, but Martin says, even though the power is off, it’s a bad idea to attempt to unclog that dangerous device with your hand.
“Unfortunately with still quite of bit of torque that’s applied to those augers sometimes you can actually end up with a pretty significant injury.” He stresses, “Don’t put any extremities inside of an auger.”
As of early Wednesday afternoon, St. Mary’s ER has seen seven snowblower injuries, and Meriter has seen three. The ERs are also reporting several snow-related cardiac trauma, several falls, and even injuries from snowball fights. Hospitals expect plenty more injuries as clean-up efforts continue.
Jackie Johnson 1:25