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Got electrocuted today (lemmy.blahaj.zone)

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.

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[-] socialmedia@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

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)

[-] corvi@lemm.ee 77 points 2 days ago

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.

[-] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 41 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

Edit: She referred me to a personal injury lawyer

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

[-] ReanuKeeves@lemm.ee 17 points 2 days ago

Bob Loblaw is about to give a low blow to Lowes

[-] floral_toxicity@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

"I have the worst fucking lawyers."

[-] voracitude@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Sounds like that hospital bill is gonna get taken care of for you, and I don't think you're gonna need to worry about having time to play video games while you recover from being nearly manslaughtered. I'm glad you're still with us, bud!

[-] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 50 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

"Electrocuted" specifically involves death, so in extreme, annoying pedantry, if you lived to tell the tale, technically you were only shocked and not electrocuted

Damn I'm surprised your hand is fucked, that really sucks! I've taken both 120V and 240V across the hand but was lucky with no serious injuries. Electricity is a dice roll.

[-] Noodle07@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

That's a shocker

[-] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago

Dying isn't always permanent

[-] gramie@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 hour ago

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

[-] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 2 days ago

Ty for clarification

[-] whostosay@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

This correction is shockingly out of line.

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

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

[-] Grimy@lemmy.world 23 points 2 days ago

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

[-] MTK@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago
[-] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago

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

[-] nokturne213@sopuli.xyz 11 points 2 days ago
[-] misterdoctor@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

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

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

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

[-] taiyang@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

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.

this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2024
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