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2008 April Slush
DA:Priest in balloon is blown to ocean
DA:Priest Visits boss
DA:Off to heaven
DA:More details on the missing priest
DA:Sky Pilot Priest Balloon Bye Bye
Balcony jumper wanted to test himse
Bonfire Night
HM:Battered Sausage
On The Road Again
(?)Four Wheel Drive
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ice diving instructor misses hole
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(DA)Intravenous Birdseed Man
Crushed crooks
Vibrator, blender and bathtube
Mr
(?)Pedestrian Killed on Barlow Trail
DA:A Screw Loose...
(?)cutting up gas tank
Chloroform and Sex Don't Mix
Beer, baseball, and an escalator
Crank it up a little Virgil
He wasn´t the Hulk...
No balls No brains
Huntingdon Man Shoots Himself in L
battered and bruised member
A "Hot" Idea.
Guns are not effective bee killers
Boys Will Be Boys
Man dies from mercury poisoning aft
In over his head...
Drunken Idiot Falls from moving SUV
A New Take on Car Surfing
Groin ... groin ... gone
Irish Bomb Expert
toasted Grenade
Possible Copper Theft Leads to Elec
Snakeskin Bracelet
Electrocuted stealing live wires
Man accidentally shoots self in che
DA:Off to Heaven
Teen sneaks out, plunges 11 floors
blasted dog
no through road my ass
Train hits man peeing on track
Police: Man dies in freak accident
Teens, Bonfire and Gas
Skateboarder Crashes into Bus
Banned for Life
A+B+C=almost DA idiocy.
Parrot rescue ends in disaster
Man runs himself over with U-Haul.
Caution: Flammable Material
See how fast I can go!
Jumping From Bridge To Train
Now promoted to higher position
Drunken Construction Worker Death
Thief burnt to death
Tree Ride Gone Wrong
Drunk Motorbike riding ends "split"
Man killed by 11,000 volts
man falls into mt st helens
I dare you to jump
Reach out and touch a tree
Fatal Boat Party Tragedy
Stuck for a 'pee'?
The Campout Pyro
Racine man dies while climbing at w
Detonator's Radio
Bubba's Electrical Service
Earth Day Gone Wrong
Man drowned after jumping into lake
Cuddling with the crocodiles
Blown Lung
heat sink fire
virginal birth - NOT
Shock Therapy for Thief
The Eye and the Testicles
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Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

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Blown Lung

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

I worked at a Walmart store in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the early 1990's when this story took place. This happened at the same store I worked at, concerning a stocking clerk who worked 8:00 pm to 8:00 am.

Stockers and others who lifted heavy items were required to wear lumbar safety belts. These were uncomfortable and hot. This guy hated his support belt and refused to wear it in such a way that it supported his lower back. Instead he wore it about 3 inches below his armpits and was warned numerous times and "wrote up" multiple times for not using safety equipment properly.

One night he was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and was coughing very hard and managed to collapse a lung. Evidently, his improper placement of the belt would not allow his lungs to expand correctly.

I know for a fact that he was denied both worker's compensation and health insurance coverage for this experience due to the multiple warnings contained in his personnel file. He also lost his job.

Submitted on 04/08/2008

Submitted by: Deanna Muse
Reference: Unknown publication-early 1990's

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Sounds a bit far-fetched to me. A belt would have to be awfully tight to collapse a lung and I can see no way it would cause an infection. Nevertheless, this is a Personal Account and humorous in the telling. We thank you.


James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
In a way, I feel sorry for the guy, though he WAS warned! I'm a bit skeptical as to whether the cause of his collapsed lung was directly the result of how he wore the belt, but he apparently had little regard for authority and apparently paid the price! Thanks, Deanna!


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