Hand seriously injured in snow blower accident
A man clearing snow around Slemon Park, just outside of Summerside, suffered seriously injuries Monday when his hand got caught in a snow blower.
P.E.I. occupational health and safety officials are investigating the incident as a workplace accident.
"His hand was caught in a piece of machinery so whether or not the extent is the whole hand gone, I'm not sure," said director Bill Reid.
"It was caught in a snow blower. It was a piece of snow removing equipment and right now we are investigating exactly the details but it involved a tractor-run snow blower."
The man is in hospital on P.E.I.
Reid isn't sure how long the investigation will take, but he hopes it can be wrapped up quickly since there are a lot of people using snow blowing equipment this time of year. He also hopes his staff will be able to make recommendations from the investigation that will help prevent similar injuries.
In February of 2009 a worker in Charlottetown lost his hand while using a snow blower to clear the sidewalk on Confederation Street. It was believed the injury happened when the worker tried to fix a jam in the machine.
