[SML] Man's Wedding Ring Gets Him Killed

[Mt. Angel Performing Arts Center]

On 11/11/2014 3:50 PM, Alex French via Stagecraft wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 3:11 PM, Jeffrey E. Salzberg via Stagecraft
> <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>> http://www.newser.com/story/198469/mans-wedding-ring-gets-him-killed.html
>
> The article is short on detail... what would be likely to kill a
> person wearing a ring that wouldn't have killed him if wasn't wearing
> the ring?
>
> Alex French
>

There are a number of possibilities -

 From the story, the victim was installing a dishwasher. He was found 
(turning red) on his knees with his left hand behind the machine.

One possibility - he was positioning the dishwasher and his wedding ring 
directly contacted something 'live' and his other hand was at another 
point on the chassis that was grounded. With or without the ring, he 
would have received a shock, but the ring may have improved the 
connection to his skin and increased the current to the fatal level.

Another possibility, similar to the first, he was positioning the 
dishwasher and contacted a live connection with some part of his body, 
perhaps the left hand or arm. When he involuntarily pulled it back, his 
wedding ring caught on something and trapped him across a live circuit.

In either of those scenarios the ring contributed to the electrocution.

I was taught at an early age to remove jewelry before messing with 
possibly energized circuits. Now I worry about underwires when at 
transmitting sites. It's always something!

Carla

A fool learns from his experience. A wise person learns from the 
experience of others. Otto von Bismarck