Brett yager's death was preventable - part 1 (long)

[Thomas Wayne]

Several years ago, we watched an episode of "Impact: Stories of Survival" on the Discovery Health Channel that featured the story of a 17-year-old girl who was injured while jumping in a tournament in Illinois. As reported in that story, she fell forward ("out-the-front") upon landing, and her head plunged through the opening of the handle, causing a "hanging-like" injury. Her trachea was severed internally, and the show went on to reenact how her life was saved through medical intervention. Since first seeing it, that episode has re-aired several times and will re-air on the Discovery Health Channel on May 27 and also June 1 of this year (http://health.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=62.10307.105905.26110.x).

After I saw that show, I started thinking about how the ski handle could be redesigned to prevent such an occurrence, and I drew up the first of several ideas on my computer. That horrific accident, however, had occurred during waterski jumping, and I hadn't personally been off a jump in over 15 years. So, after a while, I lost interest in the issue. My original designs just sat on my hard drive, and I kind of forgot the whole thing for a while.

In 2004, "Carl" started a thread on the old Nicholls forum describing an accident he had experienced where his arm went through the handle during a fall, and he suffered some serious soft tissue injuries (http://eclipse.nicholls.edu/cgi-bin/BBS/webbbs_archive.pl?noframes;read=3554). Within the thread, there are a number of responses that mention similar injuries and propose some possible solutions. That thread caused me to revisit my earlier designs and ponder the solution some more, but because the issue hadn't yet touched me directly, I again let it go dormant.

In early July of 2006, a Pennsylvania state trooper died while waterskiing – a preliminary report stating that the handle "hit him in the head" can be found here: http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=3553483, but it was later determined that he was actually killed when [presumably] his face or head entered the bridle during a fall, breaking his neck and causing him to drown.

After this horrific accident, I took the time to machine parts for my original design and showed it to some of my ski buddies, but ironically, I didn't bother to modify our handles. I say this is ironic because on July 30, 2006, I fell while waterskiing and inadvertently thrust my left arm through the handle section, severely breaking the arm and causing injuries from which I am still recovering.

As soon as I got out of the hospital in August 2006, I installed my device on handles at my ski site, and we began the process of testing and refining the design. To date, this device has been used extensively in Alaska at a number of different ski sites by many skiers and on many different handle configurations. All skiers who ski on my lake use it as a matter of principle. The device has also been tested (somewhat secretly) in Florida and California. It is currently Patent Pending, and we originally had intended to release it later this summer.

But now the tragic and untimely death of Brett Yager has greatly accelerated the need for awareness of the extreme danger posed to all skiers by the ubiquitous handle design that we have used since the sport began.

Many years ago, Fine Woodworking Magazine conducted a study regarding the relationship between power tools and hand injuries. They arrived at some interesting conclusions; apparently, the power tool responsible for the greatest number of injuries is the table saw – simply because virtually ALL woodworkers own and use one. However, the power tool responsible for the WORST injuries is the radial-arm saw. Injuries incurred with a radial-arm saw are much more infrequent, but when they DO happen, they are almost always catastrophic, resulting in at least the amputation of a finger (or fingers) up to the loss of an entire hand!

The ski handle is "our radial-arm saw"; injuries involving it are rare, but when they do happen, they are almost always serious, often devastating, and occasionally fatal. What may be most important to note, however, is that they are not as rare as you might think. Many skiers have experienced accidents similar to mine, and some of them are names that you may recognize.

For example, Todd Ristorcelli – editor of "Water Ski" magazine – has written about being dragged down the lake with his arm caught in the handle. Scott Rabineau has done it TWICE (!), and according to what he told me, the second time he had to have his entire bicep surgically removed. Marcus Brown told me of a similar incident where he got hung up in the handle. In fact, according to safety studies in California, an average of a dozen or so skiers are injured every year in "body part through handle" accidents – and remember, those had to be accidents serious enough to be reported!

At the Tenth International Symposium on Skiing Trauma & Safety held at Zell am See, Austria, May 17-21, 1993, the presenters concluded: "Interaction with the towrope is a common cause of water-skiing injuries. If a skier engages a limb in the towrope during a fall, severe injury can occur while being dragged through the water at high speed."

In fact, such accidents are mentioned in virtually every safety study I've found that references water skiing. So the danger, while rare, is not as uncommon as you might think. If you don't know someone it has happened to, you almost certainly know someone who does know someone it has happened to. But no matter how infrequently it may occur, if it happens to YOU, it might as well be 100%.

In the next several posts, I'll detail the device we've created, along with some other available alternatives.

Thomas Wayne

[Thomas Wayne]

Based on discussions with skiers who have experienced arm-through-handle accidents, there are two distinct types of falls leading to such incidents. The more common one is a slow out-the-front or sideways lay-down fall near the buoy, where the skier releases the handle, but his hand remains close until both hit the water's surface. Occasionally, the hand cleanly enters the bridle's opening, allowing the handle to slide partially or entirely up the arm. This is how my injury occurred, and it's comparable to an "all-net" shot in basketball – you're unaware until the rope tightens. Alternatively, a skier may hold the handle loosely, and upon impact with the water, it's torn from the grip and slides up the arm.

In cases where a skier gets their head through the bridle, as Brett Yager did, it often occurs when attempting to hold too much slack and experiencing a significant hit when the rope tightens. The skier's arms are violently jerked forward, and the body follows. Due to the elastic nature of our arms, as the skier flies forward (often out of the ski or skis), the arm snaps back toward the body, bringing the handle into a position for a head-first dive into the bridle. This is how injuries happen after landings, faceplants, or too-fast hook turns.

The apparent solution is to introduce a shield into the triangular opening of the handle to prevent anything from passing through. However, skiers still need some opening to grasp the handle comfortably. Experiments indicate that blocking 65% to 67% of the opening does not adversely affect skier performance.

Concerns have been raised about potential dangers if a skier gets their arm into the remaining opening. However, the likelihood of being aware of such a situation before it's too late is minimal. Closing off most of the bridle opening accomplishes two things: it significantly reduces the target area for the arm to enter, and it creates an opening too small for the arm to easily enter.

In designing a safety device, we experimented with various materials. Traditional solutions involved fabric or other flexible materials, but these could act as a funnel, guiding the skier's hand into the remaining opening. Solid fabrics, like vinyl sheeting, don't allow water or air to pass through easily and can act as a rudder in water and a sail in the air.

Our solution was to machine a safety panel from semi-rigid polycarbonate (Lexan), featuring vent holes and attachment points. This material strikes a balance between rigidity, porosity, and softness upon impact. These safety panels are now mandatory for all skiers at my lake and are used on several other lakes in the area, attached to various handle configurations, including "easy-up" bridles and radius handles.

Thomas Wayne

[Thomas Wayne]

OTHER SOLUTIONS (Scott Rabineau)

While we have applied for patent protection on several aspects and iterations of our invention, there are a couple of other solutions that have been tried and are currently in use.

Scott Rabineau, who suffered two arm-through-handle injuries, designed a vinyl/fabric cover that slides over the bridle and attaches with Velcro and/or wire ties. He has made these for several skiers over the years, including Marcus Brown. I have no idea what he would charge to make one, but a local marine upholstery shop looked at the photo and quoted me $50. Scott can be reached at: srabeneau@earthlink.com, and here is a close-up of his device in use: [insert image here].

[Thomas Wayne]

OTHER SOLUTIONS (Chef Anton)

While we have applied for patent protection on several aspects and iterations of our invention, there are a couple of other solutions that have been tried and are currently in use.

Chef Anton, a hydrofoil rider ( "Air Chair") based out of Canyon Lake, CA, is a professional entertainer, performing as a magician and a billiard trick-shot artist. He mentions that arm-through-handle injuries are very common among hydrofoil riders. To address this issue, he has manufactured a fabric safety panel, pictured below, designed for attachment to a barefoot jump handle. As of three days ago, the price for the device alone was $100. Chef also offers a service to sew his device onto your handle for a custom fee ranging from $50 to $75, depending on the handle configuration. Chef can be reached at 800-679-3859.

[Thomas Wayne]

Final Comments about the ARM-GUARD™

We firmly believe that the enhancements we've made to the basic bridle cover are significant, evident in our decision to pursue a patent. Currently, we have a stock of hand-machined panels, and we are approximately three weeks away from finalizing tooling for larger-scale production. The standard set comprises the custom-machined polycarbonate safety panel, high-quality steel-tooth wire ties, and the midpoint handle link, all depicted in our photos. An instruction sheet is included, and email tech support is available. The existing versions fit standard Masterline, Radar (and similar handles), and ARS (current HO configuration). Radius handles require a special panel, which we produce on a special order basis (at the same price as the standard design).

The cost for our ARM-GUARD™ set is $45, inclusive of shipping and handling. Within the next two weeks, we will launch a website for order placement, with payment facilitated through PayPal. In the interim, while the shopping cart system is being developed, orders can be placed directly via email at twcues@gci.net.

Regardless of whether you opt for alternative devices, create your experimental solution, or purchase from us, we strongly encourage all skiers to incorporate some form of a safety panel into their handle sections. It is an indisputable fact that if such a device had been in place on May 2, 2008, in Acapulco, Brett Yager would not have experienced the tragic outcome.

If concerns for your safety and that of fellow skiers aren't motivation enough to address this issue promptly, here's one more reason: for the next two years, 10% of the gross sales of our device will be directed into a college fund established for Brett Yager's son, Tyler.

Thomas Wayne

[Test Coach 2]

Corrected

[Drago]

Seriously?

[Jody_Seal]

the Homer handle. legendary!

[B_S]

I'm Batman. Loco Batman.

[MickeyThompson]

What happened to Thomas Wayne? I remember him from The Waterski Forum.

[Cam]

4 hours ago, MickeyThompson said:

What happened to Thomas Wayne? I remember him from The Waterski Forum.

The Joker shot him 😁

[skialex]

39 minutes ago, Cam said:

The Joker shot him 😁

That was Bruce… 😊

[MISkier]

2 hours ago, skialex said:

That was Bruce… 😊

@skialex, in the 1989 Batman movie, there is a flashback scene where Jack Napier (who later becomes the Joker) shoots and kills Thomas Wayne and his wife.

He also shoots Bruce in Vicky Vale's apartment, but hits the fortuitously placed and seemingly indestructible metal tray.

There is an homage to that scene in one of the How it Should Have Ended animated parodies:

 

Note the voice work for Joker in this one.  Decent impression.

[aupatking]

has anyone had a "hand-through-handle" accident with the "homer" type handle guard? I've never heard of it happening. It's obviously "possible" but appears to be an unlikely enough occurrence that it has not happened, at least not to my knowledge

[Horton]

oh geez. I was testing chat GPT to clean up old text that had been corrupted by database conversions in  super old posts. The good news is the AI works amazingly well for this on the other hand and it brought this post back. I didn't mean to make this public but whatever.

[DW]

When the issue was brought up and discussed on this and the previous forum I have become much more aware, conscientious and well maybe paranoid of the potential consequences of a body part through the handle.  With that, both in skiing and barefooting I make every attempt to toss the handle away from me during a fall or barefoot dismount.  Ski dismount I turn away from the trajectory of the boat and toss the handle to the other side of the wake.  My handles all have a dw made arm guard.  It doesn't take long for it to feel similar to a snow ski or bike helmet, seat belt.  From the slightly distraction of hitting it with your hand once in a while, that feels like a Hans device (head and neck restraint for motorports), sometimes irritating but knowing you are much safer, also similar to arm restraints for sprint car racing to keep arms from flailing outside the cage.

[skialex]

8 hours ago, MISkier said:

@skialex, in the 1989 Batman movie, there is a flashback scene where Jack Napier (who later becomes the Joker) shoots and kills Thomas Wayne and his wife.

He also shoots Bruce in Vicky Vale's apartment, but hits the fortuitously placed and seemingly indestructible metal tray.

There is an homage to that scene in one of the How it Should Have Ended animated parodies:

 

Note the voice work for Joker in this one.  Decent impression.

@MISkier thanks for this, I had forgotten that Thomas was the name of the father… watched the animation… really good!!

[ral]

I saw the result of an accident with a commercial plastic handle guard. It was not good at all. 

[Dano]

@ral what happened?  I was thinking of using one this season.  

[aupatking]

@Horton I was wondering if the Jason Peckham handle thing got this one resurrected

[Horton]

@aupatking

On 1/27/2024 at 7:05 PM, Horton said:

oh geez. I was testing chat GPT to clean up old text that had been corrupted by database conversions in  super old posts. The good news is the AI works amazingly well for this on the other hand and it brought this post back. I didn't mean to make this public but whatever.

 

[ral]

@Dano
 

Arm came thru the open slid and up to the shoulder, then the protection edge cut thru the upper arm when the pull from the boat came, and ripped off the full biceps down.  
 

This accident and some other knowledge on arm accidents involving handle protectors were contributors to the IWWF approval as I understand  

 

 

[ScottScott]

Quote

I make every attempt to toss the handle away from me during a fall

i don't know that I agree that is the best practice. In Aidan Willers account of his accident he says he threw the handle in the fall, but had lost track of which direction he was facing. He actually ended up throwing it backwards, away from the boat, and it then got pulled back across him and the handle caught his arm. As much awareness as is possible, I attempt to try to hold the handle untill its pulled out of my hand.

Quote

Arm came thru the open slid and up to the shoulder, then the protection edge cut thru the upper arm when the pull from the boat came, and ripped off the full biceps down.

Hard to guess if that same situation would have turned out any better if there wasn't a guard in place. The results sound similar to Aiden's accident (without a guard.). Then....how many times would an arm potentially gone through but a guard stopped it. Of course the main benefit is resisting a head through the handle which pretty much has one outcome if it happens.

[MarcusBrown]

@ScottScott that's usually the best approach....hold the handle the whole way, so that you cannot put your arm through it.

Only problem is, the rope can still wrap around your hand, even when its on the handle... I found out the hard way, in 1997

 

 

[Horton]

@MarcusBrown so gnarly 

[liquid d]

OUCH! No more piano playing for a while!