The skates at the Hangzhou Mixed Mall skating rink have once again caused injury. At around 9 p.m. the night before last, a 9-year-old girl named Tian Tian (a pseudonym) from Huzhou came to Hangzhou for winter vacation and went skating at the Mixed Mall with her aunt and uncle. For some reason, Tian Tian fell down, and her right little finger was severed by a skate blade, causing immediate heavy bleeding.
After the incident, Tian Tian was urgently taken to the Hangzhou Plastic Surgery Hospital for emergency surgery that lasted through the night.
This kind of accident at the Mixed Mall is not the first one. On July 31 last year, a 6-year-old girl named Xuan Xuan from Jiangxi also fell while skating at the Mixed Mall, and her right little finger was also severed by a skate blade (reported in our newspaper on August 10 last year).
The little girl fell down, and the skate blade severed the tip of her little finger.
Yesterday afternoon, I met Tian Tian, who had just finished surgery, in the surgical ward on the fourth floor of the Hangzhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.
Tian Tian lay quietly in bed, and her mother sitting beside her looked somewhat exhausted, constantly whispering reminders to Tian Tian: "Don't move your hand around."
Beside the bed, a square meter-sized cloth covered a lamp, resembling a makeshift incubator. Tian Tian's bandaged right hand was hidden underneath it.
Mr. Shen, Tian Tian's uncle, stood nearby. The evening before last, it was Mr. Shen who took Tian Tian to go skating.
Mr. Shen lives in Hangzhou. Every summer and winter vacation, Tian Tian would come from her home in Huzhou to play at her aunt's house. Knowing that Tian Tian liked roller skating, her aunt wanted to take her to try out the real ice rink.
At around 9 p.m. the previous evening, Mr. Shen and his wife took Tian Tian to the Mixed Mall skating rink. After putting on the skates and protective gear, her uncle led Tian Tian onto the ice. Her aunt, who did not know how to skate, stood aside watching.
"We both aren't very good at skating, so we just held onto the railing and slowly skated a few rounds," Mr. Shen said.
At 10 p.m., the skating rink was preparing to close. "I was buying a drink at the counter and getting ready to pay when I turned around and saw Tian Tian already fallen on the ice!" Tian Tian's aunt said with lingering fear. "The scene was chaotic, and we didn't know how she fell or how she got cut." Blood from Tian Tian's hand kept flowing, and everyone present was frightened and didn't know what to do.
Upon seeing this, the staff at the skating rink immediately took Tian Tian to the medical room and gave her fingers a simple bandage treatment. The severed finger was also wrapped up and sent to the plastic surgery hospital along with Tian Tian.
The tip of Tian Tian's little finger was severed. After an overnight surgery, the finger was reattached, but due to contamination of the severed finger, the doctor worried that there might be partial loss of function in the future.
The protective gear provided by the Mixed Mall does not include anti-cut gloves.
Are the safety measures at the ice rink adequate? Yesterday afternoon, I rushed to the Mixed Mall skating rink. The rink was still crowded with people, and children were laughing and weaving through each other.
I noticed that for anyone entering the Mixed Mall skating rink, the rink provides helmets and protective gear, which includes knee pads, elbow pads, and gloves. However, these gloves only cover the palm, leaving all five fingers completely exposed.
A relevant staff member at the rink stated that the protective gear currently provided by the rink follows the international standard configuration for skating rinks, and wrapping all five fingers is not part of the standard configuration. The Mixed Mall does not provide such gloves, and if customers need them, they must prepare them themselves.
Ms. Shao, a relevant person in charge at the Mixed Mall, believed that the rink had done its job in terms of safety warnings. I noticed that reminder diagrams were set up around the skating rink. Administrators also reminded that holding hands while skating is a dangerous behavior, yet it was common to see adults supporting children or couples holding each other; most of them were beginners.
Regarding accident responsibility and compensation, Ms. Shao indicated that further investigation was needed to determine. However, on the admission notice at the rink, it clearly states: "Ice Fun Mixed Mall Skating Rink is a public entertainment venue and does not assume responsibility for personal injuries or property losses caused by reasons attributable to the skaters themselves."
Many skaters expressed their inability to accept this. "Isn't this obviously showing irresponsibility towards consumer safety?"
Pan Yongming, a lawyer from Zhejiang Yanshou Law Firm, believed that the main responsible party in this accident should be the skater who severed the little girl's finger. Additionally, parents and the rink should also bear certain responsibilities. "Skating itself is a potentially dangerous sport, and parents should be aware of the danger and take precautions. If the rink side fails to remind consumers to pay attention to safety, it constitutes breach of contract and infringement, and should bear a certain degree of fault liability."
When skating, learning how to fall correctly is important.
Many short track speed skaters in our country have been injured by skate blades. What exactly is the power generated when a skate cuts through a finger? Our newspaper once consulted a physics professor, who roughly calculated that, taking figure skates as an example, the width of the skate blade is about 2 millimeters, and its length is slightly longer than an average shoe, temporarily estimated at 30 centimeters. The calculation shows that the cross-sectional area of the skate blade is 0.0006 square meters.
Assuming the mass of the person wearing the skates is 50 kilograms.
Using the pressure calculation formula, P (pressure) = m (mass) × g (gravitational acceleration) / s (second), i.e., 50 kilograms multiplied by 9.8 Newtons/kilogram divided by 0.0006 square meters, the result is approximately 816667 Pascals.
What does 816667 Pascals mean? The pressure generated by such a "cut" is equivalent to having two or three sand trucks pressing on an area of 1 square meter. The magnitude of the pressure is evident.
In random interviews conducted at the rink, I found that many people, like Tian Tian, are beginners. Many people said they skated based on feeling, unaware of the techniques and without hiring a coach.
Coach Wang Xin said that parents should understand some basic skating knowledge before bringing their children to the ice rink. First, preparation work should be in place. Children participating in skating should ideally be equipped with helmets, head and knee pads, and gloves, etc., as protective equipment. Beginners should try to stay near the edge and not skate too fast.
Besides learning how to skate, it is crucial to teach children how to fall correctly. "You should learn the procedure of falling and getting up. Whether you fall forward or sit backward, never spread your hands wide apart on either side. Instead, keep your hands together in front of your chest. Even if you use your hands to support your body, press them on the ice in front of you, bending your body like a cat, with one knee lowered and using one hand to support the lowered knee, then slowly get up, which is the safest way to get up."
(Thanks to reader Mr. Zhu for providing the information.)