A Saw Blade, a Slipped Foot, and a Surgeon's Race to Save a Worker's Arm
A worker's foot slipped against a circular saw, severing the artery and nerve in his right arm; doctors ligated the artery and stitched the nerve.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
G. A. Greciand met with a painful and what might have been fatal accident yesterday. While working about a large circular saw his foot slipped, and falling upon the upward projecting teeth severed the large artery and nerve of the right arm. He was conveyed to the hospital, where Drs. C. P. Jento and Hal Wyman found it necessary to cut down, ligate the artery and stitch together the divided ends of the nerve. Today the patient is resting well.
“His foot slipped, and falling upon the upward projecting teeth severed the large artery and nerve of the right arm.”
Industrial accidents were routine in Washington's mills and shops, but this account also shows the era's surprisingly sophisticated emergency surgery. Today's workplace-safety debates still turn on machine guarding, training, and who pays when a body is caught in a machine.
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