UPDATE | Jim Traficant in 'very critical' condition after accident at farm

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Youngstown {Ohio} Vindicator

Published: Wed, September 24, 2014 @ 9:05 a.m.

GREENFORD — Ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. is in “very critical condition” after an accident on his family farm, his wife, Tish Traficant, said today.

The former congressman, 73, is “sedated and he’s not doing well,” his wife told The Vindicator a few minutes before heading back to the St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where he was taken after first being rushed to Salem Regional Hospital.

She didn’t have details about the accident except that about 8 p.m. Tuesday, a tractor he was riding fell on him, and trapped him underneath. She was with her husband until 3:30 a.m. today and then returned to the hospital about 8:30 a.m.

The accident occurred at the family farm on West South Range Road, according to a dispatcher with the Goshen Police Department, which has jurisdiction in Greenford.

Read more: http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/sep/24/update-jim-traficant-very-critical-condition-after/

---

His name might not ring a bell, but his toupée will:



Had there been an employer-employee relationship in this situation (i.e., had Traficant been on the job for pay), OSHA standard 1928.51 would have applied:

Roll-over protective structures (ROPS) for tractors used in agricultural operations

Vehicle Hazards in Agricultural Operations

The OSH Act requires an approved ROPs for all agricultural tractors over 20 horsepower that were manufactured after October 25, 1976, and which are operated by a hired worker. (1928.51(b)(1))

[msanthrope]

1. How is his hair?

(Too soon?)

Seriously...I hope there is good news, soon.

[VanillaRhapsody]

11. Its safe....he wasnt weating "it"...

[Doctor_J]

27. it's made of space age polymers

If it got caught in a combine, the combine would probably get the worst of it

[Rhiannon12866]

2. How awful!!!

Wishing him a safe and complete recovery.

[bullwinkle428]

3. SHIT. Farming is a helluva dangerous occupation/profession/activity.

[mopinko]

14. the most dangerous.

when my relatives ask my how i can stand the big ole dangerous city, i tell them i am safe from getting sucked into the combine.

may the family have peace.

[kath]

17. Yep. A good friend of my brother was widowed at a very young age when her husband was killed in a

Farm accident.

[uppityperson]

4. Wishing him a recovery, or condolences to the family if he does not. eom

[closeupready]

5. He looks like a lost Smother Brother.

[Samantha]

6. This happened a few years ago to my dentist

He was riding a tractor which got caught on a tree root, and the tractor fell over on him. His back was broken. It was terrible. He thought about giving up his practice, but saw a number of doctors, one of whom said the break could probably be fixed surgically. He had the operation, and today it is as if the accident never happened. He is very fortunate to have recovered his life.

Sam

[MFM008]

31. amazing what can be done with backs today

my mom had a very painful spinal fracture a couple of years ago she got an injection that filled the break with a bone like cement and she walked out fine and pain free two hours later. The doctor told us that what they did to her could not have been done 5 years before that.

[Jamastiene]

36. Wow, that is great!

I always thought a broken back or neck meant death or permanently paralyzed. Mothers everywhere always tell their kids they will break their necks or their backs, because of that. It's amazing how much has changed, for the better, in this case.

[shenmue]

7. Ouchie

[politicat]

8. Oh, hell. I wouldn't wish a tractor turning turtle on anyone.

[KamaAina]

9. If he doesn't make it,

he should be buried with his rug on. Or else it should be donated to the Smithsonian.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. My dad was once crushed by a tractor, but survived.

[PeoViejo]

12. Almost happened to me once.

I had a 1946 John Deer Tractor. I was plowing some new land when the plow caught a large rock. The tractor reared up like a Bronco, but I was quick enough to kill the engine before it landed on its back with me under it. Those old Tractors are Widow-makers. Driving one of those is no place to be drunk or high.

[Kaleva]

18. I learned how to drive on a John Deere 50

[PeoViejo]

23. That's the critter

Lots of Torque.

[Kaleva]

40. With a hand clutch, shifting on the fly was a skill

At first, I bite down on the steering wheel so I could operate the clutch with one hand and work the shift lever with the other. I did that till I hit a bump one day and thought I had all my teeth ripped out of my mouth. I then modified my technique by pushing my left shoulder against the steering wheel as I shifted. Later, when I got older, I was able to shift quick enough that I didn't need to hold on to the steering wheel.

[kwassa]

34. My first ride was a 1947 Farmall Cub

like this one.

I used to cut grass with a cutting bar like this. Switching it over to the snowplow attachment in the winter was a total bitch. I had no near-death experiences, though, except later on motor cycles.

[Kaleva]

39. This was the hay mower at my grandfather's

Towed behind the tractor driven by an uncle, my job was to sit on the seat and when we had to make a turn, I pushed down on a foot pedal which raised the sickle bar.

[Skidmore]

41. I haven't seen a mower like that in years.

Our neighbor had one and he used to mow the road side down the gravel road we lived on. That sucker was scary when it was in chomping mode.

[kwassa]

42. We used ours mostly to mow along our quarter-mile long driveway. I learned to do it at

age 13 or so.

We had to plow the same driveway in the winter, too.

[jwirr]

13. Tractors are known to tip backward and land on their riders. My uncle was very young when the

tractor tipped over on him and he jumped free just in time. It is a common farm accident.

[MADem]

15. Oh NO!

The guy could be a total jerk.

He was certainly a criminal.

He was a lousy Democrat.

But damn...he was ALWAYS entertaining.

I wonder if he'll survive, or if his wish to "BEAM...ME...UP!!!!" will be granted?

My sympathies are with his family.

For those who have forgotten, or are too young to remember:

[freshwest]

19. LOL, but feel sorry for him and hiw wife. I lost a dear friend to a farm accident.

[MADem]

24. I feel for his family, too. Like I said, he could be a bit of something, but he was always

entertaining. He did the crime and he did the time. He never pulled a punch--he called 'em as he saw 'em, even if his vision was a bit impaired.

Whatever happens, I hope his loved ones are OK. He did care about his family, and that counts for something, surely.

[happyslug]

25. I always like what he said when people said that pre Roe vs Wade Abortions did not happen,.

His retort was in the 1960s he had been Sheriff deputy of the County Youngstown was the major City in and many a time he sat beside a young girl who was bleeding to death do to a botched illegal abortion. He said that every time he voted AGAINST a restriction on Abortion, even while pointing out he was a church going Catholic.

Yes, he was and is a Social Conservative (do NOT expect him to come out for Gay Rights etc), but he was as pro Social Security, Pro Union etc as you can be to make his a economic progressive on those issues. Thus in many ways he reflected the Democratic Party of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio.

His opposition to immigration had more to do with keeping wages UP then anything else. Immigration has always been used as a way to REDUCE wages and is one of the reason the top 1% had obtain almost all of the benefits of productivity since 1970, as oppose to prior to that date when such increase in productively was more evenly spread out among all classes of society.

People may call him a bad Democrat, but he represented his district who were more concerned about their ECONOMIC well being then any other fact. These he was a Economic Progressive and a Social Conservative that supported abortion rights.

[MADem]

29. I understand what you are saying. He was, indeed, a mixed bag as a congressman.

And you are right, he accurately represented the sentiments of his district--it's why they returned him enthusiastically to his seat, even as he was embroiled in allegations of scandal and corruption.

He was certainly entertaining--those awful leisure suits, that squirrel on his head--and those MISTAH. SPEEEKAH. BEAM. ME. UP. one-minute speeches--hilarious. I managed to catch a few of them when I was on the Hill--not to be missed.

[FailureToCommunicate]

16. That is how we lost Merle Watson...

(Wishing a better outcome for Rep Traficant)

[AlecBGreen]

20. it certainly is

Its tragic but I like to think that he went out doing something he loved and enjoyed.

[Doctor_J]

28. true that

Awful way to go

[Paladin]

21. Tractors are genuinely dangerous implements.

Hope he makes it.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

22. Was he wearing his red vest or his dark brown pants?

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Traficant%27s_farewell_speech

[Aerows]

26. Horrible

I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

[Jamastiene]

37. I wouldn't either. n/t

[NaturalHigh]

30. I hope he will be okay.

Where I live, I've known of a lot of farm accidents, some even more gruesome than this. Farming is a very dangerous profession.

Traficant is quite the character, but I don't think he's really a bad guy.

[brooklynite]

32. I generally feel that the term "bad guy" applies...

...to someone convicted of bribery, tax evasion and racketeering.

[NaturalHigh]

33. You're probably right...

but there are a lot worse people out there who never went to jail. At least Traficant was entertaining.

He's an old man who was injured in a horrible accident. No he's not a role model, but I still hope he's okay.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

35. National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 21-27

It's an example of irony, I guess.

I read he was driving an antique tractor. That makes ROPS - a rollover protective structure - unlikely.

OSHA and agriculture community come together to promote safety education during National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 21-27

OSHA News Release: (09/25/2014)
Contact Name: Scott Allen or Rhonda Burke
Phone Number: [phone]
Email: [e-mail] or [e-mail]
Release Number: 14-1783-CHI

OSHA and agriculture community come together to promote safety education during National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 21-27

CHICAGO — The agriculture sector accounted for 479 deaths in 2013. With a fatality rate of 22.2 for every 100,000 full-time workers, agriculture recorded the highest fatality rate of any industry sector. Additionally, more than 49,000 injuries were recorded in 2012, the last year for which statistics were available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Agriculture employs more than 2 million people in the United States.

OSHA and agriculture community come together to promote safety education during National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 21-27
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is supporting the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety's National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 21-27 by emphasizing the importance of worker safety in the industry. The theme for this year's National Farm Safety and Health Week is "Safety Counts: Protecting What Matters."

"Promoting safety and health on American farms and increasing awareness of the confined space, farm equipment, grain handling and other hazards in the agricultural industry has been a priority of OSHA, agribusinesses and farm agencies in recent years," said Nick Walters, regional administrator for OSHA in Chicago. "Protecting the safety and health of agricultural workers is important to all of us in the Midwest."

Farm Safety and Health Week has been observed during September annually since 1944 as farmers prepare for harvest. The NECAS has posted informational safety and health materials on its website at www.necasag.org.

[closeupready]

38. Years ago, I worked on a boat; one day, we were floating on the current

downstream. At some point, we started to approach a low-lying bridge, and we weren't sure we would clear it. I was drawn in closely to watch and see; we just made it by an inch or so, but in the process, I nearly got decapitated - I'd forgotten that I was on a large moving structure approaching an immovable object. I'll never forget that close call.

Obviously, most people don't work on boats, but more generally, freak accidents happen when you work around large, powerful machines. (Stories like this always bring back that time and even some of the dread.)