Numbing 2 secs as tool carves off arm

Like a stick being wrapped around a steel bar and then snapped in two.
That's how Northlander Simon Oliver describes the shocking moment when part of his arm was torn off in an electric concrete pump.
His employer was this week ordered to pay him $14,000 - even though the Ngunguru man admitted he was at fault for taking a shortcut while cleaning the pump.
The incident happened when Mr Oliver was operating the pump at a Tauranga building site on April 12. After finishing the pour he had started cleaning the hopper while agitator blades were still moving. They had caught his glove and trapped his hand. His arm ended up being severed at the elbow.
Mr Oliver admitted he failed to follow proper procedures by not making sure the agitator blade control lever was in neutral and locked. But his employer, Jaxxon Concrete Pumps, was still prosecuted because a grate covering the top of the hopper had been missing and a safety switch not installed.
The company pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to ensure a worker's safety and was ordered to pay Mr Oliver $14,000 reparation.
Mr Oliver, who has moved back to Ngunguru for rehabilitation, described having his lower right arm ripped off as like a stick being wrapped around a steel bar and then snapped in two.
"I was staying in one spot, not moving, but the arm was being pulled around. The arm was crushed, the bone snapped and then the muscle was torn off," the 43-year-old said.
He said he did not feel any pain while the rotating paddles, which stop cement becoming lumpy, trapped his arm.
"People were shocked because I was not making any noise. It was very quick, probably two seconds.
"It was very matter of fact in my head. I knew it was going to happen and watched it. There was no pain. I was just numb." Builders had rushed to help Mr Oliver and comfort him until an ambulance arrived.
After eight days in Tauranga Hospital he was discharged and moved back to Northland to stay with his parents.
Mr Oliver has started a year of reconstructive surgery in Auckland. He will undergo skin grafts on his right arm, which ends 5cm below his elbow.
If surgery is successful, it is hoped Mr Oliver can be fitted with a prosthetic arm - otherwise his arm will have to be amputated from the elbow.
He has been unable to work since and said he doubted he could return to the construction industry because of the amount of lifting required.
The enforced lay-off, he said, had been hard to endure.
"It took a while for the shock to set in and to realise that suddenly you can't do the things you used to do. I've had 43 years on the go and then it suddenly came to a halt."
The financial impact of not being able to be work was another major hurdle, and the $14,000 reparation would make little difference to his life.
However, he said he did not expect the case to even get to court and he was shocked Jaxxon had been punished.
"I took a shortcut when I was cleaning up. I have no hard feelings at all. I'm not going to let this get me down though, it's not going to stop me. I will work again."