Schoolboy Blamed After Losing Arm in Transformer Accident
Artem, despite his injury, continues to help his parents around the house as if nothing happened.
Almost five months have passed since the day when 14-year-old Artyom Chudinov from Aramil (Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia) lost his left arm. The teenager learned anew how to dress, wash, and help his mother around the house — he deftly handles all chores with his right hand alone.
Artem does not deny his guilt, but his parents are concerned about the safety of the site.
No one gives Artyom any leeway. Together with his parents, he decided he doesn’t need it: the teenager is against being treated any differently. After a severe electric shock he survived, and that is the main thing.
Previously Artem was active in sports, but now he only maintains his fitness.
How the schoolboy’s life turned out and why he himself was blamed for what happened — read in a report by Elena Anosova from E1.RU.
Artem took the loss of his arm more calmly than anyone in his family, with friends and classmates supporting him.
“Mom, Let’s Stop by the Church. I’ll Get a Cross.”
He cannot put on his favorite watch without help, but otherwise manages independently.
“Can you imagine how strong he is? Stronger than me, for sure. When the doctor said the arm would have to be amputated, not a single muscle in his face twitched,” says Anastasia Chudinova, Artyom’s mother.
This video recounts how Artem endured a severe electric shock and its aftermath.
We met with Anastasia and Artyom near the same transformer booth where on August 29 last year the teenager was electrocuted. He was out with friends. A downpour began, and the schoolchildren ran to the nearest house to take shelter, but none of the neighbors let them into the entrance. Then someone in the company suggested climbing into that booth.
Artyom calmly talks about what happened and does not deny that he himself is to blame. However, there is one nuance: getting into the booth was far too easy.
“I had already been inside this booth a year ago, the summer before last. I went in, looked around, and left. The door was wide open. And this time we decided to go in,” says Artyom. “I thought that since it was so easy to get in, the booth must be de-energized or not working. We climbed the iron ladder, the door was closed. I grabbed the handle, pulled a little. It opened on the first or second try, one side came off its hinges. And that was it, we went in.”
The teenager curiously examined everything; there was very little space inside. Involuntarily, he raised his left arm and accidentally touched a metal corner of the transformer booth. Artyom tried to turn around and felt an electric shock.
Everything happened within just 5–10 seconds. The wire sparked, but there was no fire or bang. The clothes on his left arm burned off, and the skin charred. The voltage in the booth was 10,000 volts.
The teenager crawled through the window onto the ladder and went out to his friends. He remained conscious the whole time. The boys called for Artyom’s brother and accompanied them home, from where an ambulance was called. The victim was taken to Children’s Hospital No. 9 in Yekaterinburg.
At that time, Anastasia was in Kamensk-Uralsky with her youngest son at a football tournament. She has four children in total. Upon learning what happened, she got in the car with her child and rushed to the hospital.
“I don’t even remember driving there. Honestly, his father and I were very worried about Artyom, but he was the one supporting us so much,” Anastasia says.
The boy was placed in the burn unit. An MRI showed that there was no blood circulation in the injured arm; it could not be saved.
His mother was not allowed into Artyom’s room, but she came and spoke with his attending physician. She only saw her son through the window, and he waved his stump at her, showing no sign that anything was bothering him.
That same evening, returning from Yekaterinburg, Anastasia went to the transformer booth to take some photos. The door, ripped off its hinges, was at the entrance. There were no signs or stickers on the structure, but the next day warnings like “Don’t climb in! It will kill you!” were put up.
Soon investigators opened a criminal case under Article 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — “Performing work or providing services that do not meet safety requirements for the life and health of consumers.”
After 17 days, Artyom was discharged from the hospital and returned home.
“I would like to express special gratitude to the burn unit of the ninth hospital, gratitude to the doctors for their tender care,” Anastasia says sincerely. “You know, when we were leaving the ninth hospital, Artyom said, ‘Mom, let’s stop by the church. I’ll get a cross.’ And he has not taken it off since. I think his guardian angel saved him.”
Blamed for Everything — the Teenager Himself
Two months later, on October 30, the family received a decision to terminate the criminal case. The investigators stopped the proceedings, citing that the teenager himself was at fault for the injury.
It turned out that the transformer booth had been inspected at the beginning of August and no safety issues were found. A specialist from Rostekhnadzor was also brought in, who noted that doors to such premises should be locked and have a fire resistance rating — and that was it; no other requirements exist.
During the inspection of the transformer substation, minor violations were identified. According to the rules, the company that owns the facility must take measures to prevent unauthorized persons from entering electrical installations, but the methods for implementing them are not specified, the Investigative Committee’s decision states.
Also on September 5, a commission inspected the transformer booth and decided that everything met technical requirements (after warning signs had already been posted).
“I do not absolve my child of guilt, but a high-risk facility should be somehow protected. The door was hanging on rusty nails, and the external ladder leading to the second floor should have been removed years ago,” Anastasia believes.
The transformer booth belongs to Oblkommunenergo. According to Anastasia, the company promised to support the family. When the accident happened, the utility workers asked them not to comment to the media — the mother agreed and stopped talking to journalists, but in response to this good-faith gesture, the family received no help.
Well-known lawyer Yulia Lipinskaya decided to support the family.
“We wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, about the criminal case being dropped. I think additional checks are needed to find out who is at fault for the fact that access to the transformer booth was not restricted,” Yulia Lipinskaya believes. “The company received instructions to fix the violations but did not do so. The child became disabled; he and his family were not able to fully exercise their rights.”
Friends Joke: “We’ll Have a Cyborg Freak”
Before the injury, Artyom was actively involved in sambo, and later in freestyle wrestling, and even took second place in the Ural Federal District championship in Kamensk-Uralsky. He had to leave competition behind, but the teenager goes to the gym to stay in shape. The muscles in his injured arm also need to be strained, otherwise they will atrophy.
The coach suggested that the schoolboy try Paralympic sports, but so far the eighth-grader hasn’t decided if he’s ready for that step.
At first after discharge, Artyom couldn’t do everything. While helping with household chores, he broke more than one plate, but now he deftly holds a vacuum cleaner or steamer under his left armpit, irons and mops floors. He barely needs outside help, except he cannot put a watch on his right hand by himself.
Anastasia worried about how classmates, teachers and peers would react to the news of his arm loss, but needlessly: their attitude toward Artyom hasn’t changed at all. He attends the same school and the same class, writes tests and turns in homework along with everyone else.
“When this all happened, the whole of Aramil cried. Many people called with words of support,” says Anastasia. “I went to see the school principal; they asked me, ‘How should we treat him? Should we overlook his mistakes?’”
At the end of February, Artyom will receive a removable bionic prosthesis: on January 12, the teenager flew to Moscow with his father for measurements. Amazingly, while still in the hospital, the boy himself found the “Motorika” factory that makes prostheses and contacted them.
“Artyom’s friends called him a ‘chudik’ (oddball) even before, because of his last name Chudinov. Now they say, ‘We’ll have a cyborg freak.’ Of course, nothing can replace his own arm, but thank God he survived. That’s the most important thing,” says Anastasia.
The prosthesis itself costs 3.7 million rubles (about $37,000 at current rates), but the family will get it for free thanks to a social certificate. The main thing is not to break it, otherwise a new one would have to be bought at their own expense.
“What are the features of this prosthesis? It moves, allows you to move your fingers, the device itself connects to the nervous system,” explains Anastasia Chudinova. “You can use a keyboard and a phone, but you can’t break it or get it wet. It can freeze, but just 10–15 minutes in a warm room and the device warms up and starts working.”
Artyom himself doesn’t yet understand how to control the prosthesis or what sensations he will have, but he is sure that it will definitely make everyday life easier.
“Do you regret now that you climbed into that booth?” — “Of course. I’d rather have kept my arm; a prosthesis wouldn’t be needed, all this fuss wouldn’t be happening, but nothing can be changed now,” our hero says.
For now, Artyom is preparing for the OGE (Basic State Exam). Six months ago he wanted to leave after the ninth grade to go to college and learn a trade, but then he changed his mind and decided to study to become an architect.
The editors of E1.RU also asked Oblkommunenergo for a comment. They replied that the investigators had established the innocence of the company’s employees due to the lack of a causal link between their actions and the infliction of grievous bodily harm.
“The staff did not violate any requirements for the safe maintenance of the transformer substation. The previous inspection was carried out on June 17 — no damage to hinges, doors or locks was recorded. At the scene, investigators found signs of forced entry. Immediately after receiving notification of the break-in, employees of the Aramil District Electric Networks restored the door on the second floor and updated the safety signs,” Oblkommunenergo commented.
The company is ready to help the family if it receives an official request for compensation and documents confirming the costs of treatment and rehabilitation. However, the family of the injured schoolboy has not contacted Oblkommunenergo.
Also read an important guide on how to save a child if they are electrocuted.
