"I truly believe that accidents happen. It was just my turn" was the quote in the April 10 Herald from a spectator hit by a high-speed puck that struck her in the face at a recent Silvertips hockey game. It is good that she did not lose her eye, but it is disturbing that she was struck in the first place.
Safety professionals don’t use the word "accident" much these days. It makes you think of a tragedy that is completely unexpected. That’s not very useful to someone who is in the business of reducing the risk that someone will be injured or killed. Instead, they talk about "unintended events." If the event can cause injury, death or property damage, then it’s worth looking at. A safety professional wants to know how likely it is to happen and whether it can be prevented.
In the article, a Silvertips official compared the puck striking the woman to being struck by a comet while walking on the street: "It’s very slim in my opinion. Anything has got a probability of happening, you know?"
Well, the probability of a comet striking Earth, let alone a populated area, is likely once every million years or so, according to NASA. Currently, no technology exists to prevent it from happening, even if we knew it was coming. That event is said to be "unpreventable."
Compare that with the average of two times per game that The Herald reported that a puck is likely to be launched into the spectator seating area. It is also possible to come up with several reasonable ways to reduce the risk of that intrusion to a more acceptable level — say, in the neighborhood of two times per 10,000 games or better. What happened to this woman was "preventable" based upon information in the article about this and a previous injury.
It is not comforting to know that all of the Everett Events Center’s protective glass and netting are regulation height. It may well be that the industry’s standard of care toward its customers may be where the automotive industry was back in the early 1960s. At that time it was known that even relatively minor automobile collisions could cause serious injury or death to the driver and passengers because they were not effectively restrained against the forces of inertia. The technology existed to reduce this risk but the car companies were unwilling to install it. It would add to the price of the car, making it less competitive. Today, thanks to safety standards, people are able to survive and sometimes even walk away from serious collisions because of seat and shoulder belts, energy absorbing frames and more sophisticated air bags.
It is ironic that a parent could be ticketed as negligent for not having a child belted in while driving to a hockey game. However, the Everett Events Center and the hockey leagues take ineffective action to address the risk of that same child being fatally struck by a puck that is nearly certain to enter the spectator area. They simply announce over the loudspeaker to keep an eye out for flying pucks and put a disclaimer in small print on the back of the ticket.
Several possible fixes might be explored. Two that come to mind are clear extensions attached to the existing shields or a ring of clear polycarbonate panels suspended by cables from the roof above the existing shields. Judging from the picture of the woman’s glasses and the description of her injuries, offering ANSI Z87 marked industrial safety glasses to concerned spectators would not be an effective solution.
Yes, fixing this problem may cost a bit. But the alternative is that someday Everett may have a fatal event as happened in Columbus, Ohio, two years ago. A 13-year-old girl seated 15 rows above the ice was struck in the forehead by a deflected puck at an NHL hockey game. She died two days later from injuries that occurred when her head was violently snapped back by the impact.
A Silvertips or Everett Events Center official may have the unenviable task of facing a grief-stricken mom and dad who thought they were being good parents in taking a son or daughter to a hockey game. That child may have lost an eye or died because she couldn’t avoid a high-speed puck when she first noticed it a foot away from her face — and, more importantly, because a responsible person made the choice to not take effective action to control a preventable hazard that was known to exist. It won’t be an accident.
Glenn Harvey, a Marysville resident, works as the safety and health coordinator for the Washington State Department of Labor &Industries offices in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties and was formerly a WISHA (Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act) consultant for the department. He has two grown sons who are Silvertips fans and occasionally attend games. This commentary represents his own personal opinion and is not to be understood as that of his employer.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
