Spyke
rant·RantbyKit

Got electrocuted today

Lowes hooked up a new washer/dryer combo, but when I ran it the water backed up. I went to clean it up and got electrocuted somehow.

My hand is fucked but my heart is OK, so I got out lucky. Spent the whole day in the hospital and I'm dreading the bill (thanks USA). So much for my plans of gaming over the holiday - can't do much with one hand.

The breaker to that room is off and I'm keeping the pets out until an electrician can come.

View original on lemmy.blahaj.zone
lemm.ee

If you haven’t already, you should probably be taking to a lawyer. Somebody fucked up and almost killed you. They have insurance for that.

84
Kitreply
lemmy.blahaj.zone

My bestie is a lawyer. I'm not talking to anyone until I talk to her.

Edit: She referred me to a personal injury lawyer

46

Edit: She referred me to a personal injury lawyer

Oh, so she's a real lawyer; one who knows about specialties.

18

You see, there's different kinds of dead: there’s sort of dead, mostly dead, and all dead. -- Miracle Max

2

You can be clinically dead and revived. That's kind of a prerequisite to being revived.

17

I was going to say this, but when he mentioned the ER, I figured it was close enough.

3

Start taking pictures of all the damages before it heals and get a lawyer.

24
lemmy.world

OP’s still amped from their hospital visit and you’re making puns?

5

This guy gets injured in his own ohm and you want him to resist the urge to pun?

8

Glad you're ok and glad you're lawyering up. I can't give you practical advice but I can say there are plenty of games out there suitable for one hand and even just one button. Vampire Survivors got me through some difficult days when I couldn't spare a hand! Find yourself a distraction until you get better, and hopefully very very rich.

7

Thanks! I dug out my old left handed gamepad and I'm playing FFXI with it. Using a mouse is tough.

2

If they wired it backwards the hot side might be joined to the "ground" which is connected to the chassis (I don't know washer and dryer terms). So you would have a hot side on the washer and a ground side on the dryer.

A safe way to check this would be to use a multimeter to check the voltage between the washer and dryer. I'm only mentioning this because its fun to speculate. I would still wait for a professional electrician to diagnose things. They can also document what they find which helps you if you need a case.

The shock might have been bad because of the amount of contact or duration. Normal 110v shocks are really small. You brush against something, it hurts, you pull away.

In this case you might put your whole hand on it and then if you touch the dryer with any part of your body you get a big shock.

For what its worth, you won't know until the electrician confirms things. The dryer could be wired backwords and Lowes could have done things 100% right with the washer. Or there could be another problem (lose wire somewhere, possibly a defect inside the washer)

3
lemmy.world

Not trying to be an ass, but have you never been shocked before? Why the hospital visit? Get burned or something? Scared to ask how they hooked it up so poorly.

My dumbass pulled a move and stuck my hand in the washer power after I plugged it up. Yelled so loud the wife came running and the kids heard it outside and came running. Scared the shit out of me, zero damage.

I've hung from a support line, that was not a power line and should never have been energized. Locked on, 220V of FUCK YOU from one hand to the other, across the chest. Finally broke free by kicking myself off the pole and crash landing. Damage? Palms were pink.

Point being, that's so abnormal it's scary. My man! WTF happened?!

-16

Typing is hard with one hand so bare with me. When I got shocked my arm immediately went numb from my hand to my elbow and still is. Shortly after my chest started hurting. I have heart problems as is. Went to urgent care for my hand but they sent me to the hospital for my heart. Still can't feel my hand much - it's weird, feels like it's in plaster or something. Got a good burn on my hand but they said the feeling should return within 10 days.

24

You should always go to the hospital after a decent shock to make sure you're good

My dad worked with electricians and a dude had a heart attack a few hours after a good shock because it had slightly fucked with his rhythm or something (I ain't no heart man), from then on they enforced sending people to the DR if they got a numbing shock or worse

Same was the case when I worked in a warehouse and we only dealt with 110v

16

Not to mention electrocution leads to various other organs being damaged, like the kidneys, so OP might want to make a full health check.

5

Shocks can kill you later by causing irregularities in your heart (arrhythmia?). Anyway, had a carpenter on a site get shocked, refuse care, and die at home, hours after his work day ended from a heat attack. Always get checked after a shock.

14
Grimyreply
lemmy.world

Sounds like you got lucky tbh, 220v can easily kill even more so in the way you are describing.

9

You reached the end