Dive Ladder Severs Fingers

Dear Ben,

I recently had the end of one of my fingers severed by a folding ladder that freakishly caught my finger in the space between the rung and metal attachment piece while on a snorkeling tour in a lagoon on Moorea in Tahiti. It's very painful and actually disables you mostly because of the nerve damage; I'm unable to bend the finger down as it feels the knuckle will break for some reason.

My friend said the ladder pinched her finger and it hurt but fortunately it didn't catch it how it caught mine. It sounds like the same scenario; I was getting into the water facing outward when I my arm was pulled up after I jumped off and it turned me a bit and I felt a tug on my finger tip. It was weird so I looked at it to make sure it wasn't cut or something and what I saw was the tiny bone of my finger sticking clean up. The only thing that could have caught it was a small space between ladder rung and attachment. When I jumped in the water, the swell must have brought the ladder up, putting my finger in the way as my hand was a little behind me when I let go as I was jumping in. It's the only thing around that had a space small or big enough to somehow catch my finger in.

- Sailor De Camp

Undercurrent replies: All divers should be aware that their boat can injure them if it's moving in an ocean swell. It can hit you with the hull, and if the ladder hinges, it can strike you as you attempt to climb on. The hands are particularly vulnerable to getting them crushed at the top of a hinging ladder, a common mounting on a day boat. Take care.