Mower man pain

IAN Daly is in pain.
He endured two skin grafts after his ride-on mower slashed his right leg as he fell two metres down an embankment at Korumburra.
The proprietor of Coal Creek Motel and his mower landed on the South Gippsland Highway, and he was fortunate not to be hit by oncoming traffic.
The incident happened in January while Mr Daly was mowing long grass, but he still remains off work recuperating and faces more medical treatment.
Mr Daly recently underwent a second round of surgery after encountering issues with the original graft, which was six inches long and entailed taking skin from his thigh.
“I’m coming along slowly. I’m not back to square one,” he said.
Mr Daly said the long grass was between the South Gippsland Highway and a service road leading to his motel.
He said he was told by South Gippsland Shire Council the grass was VicRoads’ responsibility to mow, but he said VicRoads told him it was council’s job.
He remains unsure whose responsibility the land is.
Mr Daly said the long grass was an eyesore at the entrance to Korumburra and his business, and also tarnished the image of Coal Creek Community Park and Museum, across the highway.
Tired of inaction, Mr Daly took it upon himself to mow the grass.
While mowing, his mower slipped off the edge of the embankment, taking him with it.
“It just happened there were no cars coming,” Mr Daly said.
“I jumped off because I could see it was going over. As soon as you get off the seat, the mower stops but the blades do a couple of turns before they stop completely.
“I was scared but what can you do when you’re on the way down the hill.
“The mower landed upside down. It was bent around a bit.”
Despite a large gash in the side of his leg, Mr Daly was able to halt a passing a driver whom helped him remove the mower from the highway.
He was taken to Korumburra hospital and then to the Valley Private Hospital in Mulgrave, Melbourne, for the graft.
Since then, Mr Daly has been enduring weekly trips to Melbourne for medical treatment and is taking painkillers to ease his agony.
“I have not been able to work in the motel and now I have to pay someone to mow the grass,” he said.
“It’s a struggle and I do not like to be sitting still. I have to sit there all day with my foot up.”
Mr Daly faces a MRI scan once his grafts heal to ensure his leg is okay.
He also believes council should erect a railing along the top of the embankment as visitors to events at Coal Creek often park there, and he is concerned a car or a child could also fall over the edge.
“Kids see these daredevil things on TV and they would try anything,” Mr Daly said.
Council is investigating the issue and was not able to comment further, a spokesperson said.

Hobbling along: a wounded Ian Daly by the embankment where he and his ride-on mower fell to the South Gippsland Highway below.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Mar 4 2014. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry