Cut my hand open on a rusty pipe during a zero-visibility dive off Port Manatee

I was doing inspection work on a support piling about 40 feet down, and the silt was so thick I could barely see my glove in front of my face. Reached to grab hold of a pipe I thought was smooth, but some idiot had left a jagged edge sticking out. Cut right through my dry glove and into my palm, blood mixing with the murky water before I even felt the sting. I had to signal my tender, fight the current back to the ladder, and get topside fast. Ended up with 12 stitches and a tetanus shot that wiped me out for two days. The worst part was my supervisor tried to blame me for not checking the area first, like I can see through mud. What do you guys do when you get cut deep on a job with no visibility and pushy bosses?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_carter511mo ago

Blamed for not checking first" is a special kind of stupid.

wade7801mo ago

Oh man, @victor_carter51 you hit the nail on the head. I still remember the time I bought a used car, didn't check the oil because I figured 'how bad could it be,' and ended up with a blown engine a week later. My buddy's like "dude why didn't you pop the hood?" and I'm just standing there feeling like the world's laziest detective. I might as well have blamed the mechanic for not reading my mind. It's basically saying "I failed at the one thing but it's your fault.