Work Accident

I came to work today, and outside the front door was an ambulance and a gurney. That is not the scene I expected to walk in to. I experienced a bunch of mixed emotions and thoughts as I walked the twenty or so paces to the door, made my way around the gurney and into the foyer where my desk is. The emergency was nearly over by the time I got here. People were bustling around, and I sat at my desk, in the middle of the action, as one of my co-workers was carried out by two paramedics. They managed to make it through the narrow passage and around the corner, and all the upper management staff looked on as she was hoisted onto the gurney and into the ambulance.

I got the story later. She was going up a set of three stairs from the office into the shop and tripped somehow, falling hard on her shoulder. She dislocated it for sure, but any further damage would be detected by x-rays at the hospital. She tends to slump forward and shuffle as she walks, and has been quite accident prone in the past, so I don't think that anyone was surprised that this happened to her. We have painted things yellow in an attempt to make obstacles more visible, as well as implemented almost every other safety precaution known to man in order to keep our lost time accidents to a minimum. Short of removing the stairs and putting in a ramp, or padding every surface in the office and shop, I'm not sure that this instance could have been avoided, simply because her walk isn't very good.

I am sad that this happened. She is an older woman who has been with the company for a long time. She is a valued employee. But I don't know that we, as a company, could have done anything better to ensure her safety. And if she misses work due to injury, we will be penalized for it.

But I hope that as a company, we don't forget what is important here. She is alive and recovering when something much worse could have happened. I hope that amidst all of the investigating and questions we don't neglect to ensure her comfort and safety now and going forward, even if this was an unavoidable instance.

-SP