Lowes hooked up a new washer/dryer combo, but when I ran it the water backed up. I went to clean it up and got electrocuted somehow.

My hand is fucked but my heart is OK, so I got out lucky. Spent the whole day in the hospital and I’m dreading the bill (thanks USA). So much for my plans of gaming over the holiday - can’t do much with one hand.

The breaker to that room is off and I’m keeping the pets out until an electrician can come.

  • socialmedia@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    13 days ago

    If they wired it backwards the hot side might be joined to the “ground” which is connected to the chassis (I don’t know washer and dryer terms). So you would have a hot side on the washer and a ground side on the dryer.

    A safe way to check this would be to use a multimeter to check the voltage between the washer and dryer. I’m only mentioning this because its fun to speculate. I would still wait for a professional electrician to diagnose things. They can also document what they find which helps you if you need a case.

    The shock might have been bad because of the amount of contact or duration. Normal 110v shocks are really small. You brush against something, it hurts, you pull away.

    In this case you might put your whole hand on it and then if you touch the dryer with any part of your body you get a big shock.

    For what its worth, you won’t know until the electrician confirms things. The dryer could be wired backwords and Lowes could have done things 100% right with the washer. Or there could be another problem (lose wire somewhere, possibly a defect inside the washer)

  • taiyang@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    14 days ago

    Glad you’re ok and glad you’re lawyering up. I can’t give you practical advice but I can say there are plenty of games out there suitable for one hand and even just one button. Vampire Survivors got me through some difficult days when I couldn’t spare a hand! Find yourself a distraction until you get better, and hopefully very very rich.

  • Grimy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    15 days ago

    Start taking pictures of all the damages before it heals and get a lawyer.

  • corvi@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    15 days ago

    If you haven’t already, you should probably be taking to a lawyer. Somebody fucked up and almost killed you. They have insurance for that.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    15 days ago

    Not trying to be an ass, but have you never been shocked before? Why the hospital visit? Get burned or something? Scared to ask how they hooked it up so poorly.

    My dumbass pulled a move and stuck my hand in the washer power after I plugged it up. Yelled so loud the wife came running and the kids heard it outside and came running. Scared the shit out of me, zero damage.

    I’ve hung from a support line, that was not a power line and should never have been energized. Locked on, 220V of FUCK YOU from one hand to the other, across the chest. Finally broke free by kicking myself off the pole and crash landing. Damage? Palms were pink.

    Point being, that’s so abnormal it’s scary. My man! WTF happened?!

    • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      1·
      15 days ago

      Typing is hard with one hand so bare with me. When I got shocked my arm immediately went numb from my hand to my elbow and still is. Shortly after my chest started hurting. I have heart problems as is. Went to urgent care for my hand but they sent me to the hospital for my heart. Still can’t feel my hand much - it’s weird, feels like it’s in plaster or something. Got a good burn on my hand but they said the feeling should return within 10 days.

    • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      15 days ago

      You should always go to the hospital after a decent shock to make sure you’re good

      My dad worked with electricians and a dude had a heart attack a few hours after a good shock because it had slightly fucked with his rhythm or something (I ain’t no heart man), from then on they enforced sending people to the DR if they got a numbing shock or worse

      Same was the case when I worked in a warehouse and we only dealt with 110v

    • Letstakealook@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      14 days ago

      Shocks can kill you later by causing irregularities in your heart (arrhythmia?). Anyway, had a carpenter on a site get shocked, refuse care, and die at home, hours after his work day ended from a heat attack. Always get checked after a shock.

  • theunknownmuncher@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    15 days ago

    “Electrocuted” specifically involves death, so in extreme, annoying pedantry, if you lived to tell the tale, technically you were only shocked and not electrocuted

    Damn I’m surprised your hand is fucked, that really sucks! I’ve taken both 120V and 240V across the hand but was lucky with no serious injuries. Electricity is a dice roll.