Likelihood of Injuries
Nail gun injuries are common - one study found that 2 out of 5 residential carpenter apprentices experienced a nail gun injury over a four-year period.
Nail Gun Safety
Nail gun injuries hospitalize more construction workers than any other tool-related injury.
- Hands and fingers: More than half of reported nail gun injuries are to the hand and fingers. One quarter of these hand injuries involve structural damage to tendons, joints, nerves, and bones.
- Legs: After hands, the next most often injured are the leg, knee, thigh, foot, and toes.
- Arms, neck, head, and trunk: Less common are injuries to the forearm or wrist, head and neck, and trunk.
Serious nail gun injuries to the spinal cord, head, neck, eye, internal organs, and bones have been reported. Injuries have resulted in paralysis, blindness, brain damage, bone fractures, and death.
According to NIOSH, there are several common causes (risk factors) for nail gun injuries. Here are some examples of how injuries related to nail guns can occur in a workplace:
- Unintentional fire: If the trigger is pulled on a single contact or actuation trigger and you accidentally knock a person or material the gun may discharge the nail.
- Knocking the safety contact: Unintentional fire due to knocking the safety contact with the trigger squeezed.
- Accidental double fire: A double-fire may occur if you push too hard on a contact trigger nailer, or are nailing in an awkward spot. The second may come out too fast for you to react.
- Nailing through wood/materials: The nail may come out the other side of the material you're nailing, posing a risk to others. This is especially true if you are holding the material in your hand when firing the gun.
- Blowout: The nail may go through the material and ricochet off a hard piece of metal or other material underneath.
- Missing the work target: Take careful aim and don't rush.
- Modified safety mechanism: Never modify a nail gun to circumvent the safety features such as removing the spring in the safety contact tip. (Source: OSHA)
The most common nail gun injuries occur as a result of unintentional double-fire, blowout, and misses.
A 26-year-old Idaho construction worker died following a nail gun accident in April 2007. He was framing a house when he slipped and fell. His finger was on the contact trigger of the nail gun he was using. The nosepiece hit his head as he fell, driving a 3-inch nail into his skull. The nail injured his brain stem, causing his death. The safety controls on the nail gun were found to be intact. Death and serious injury can occur using nail guns - even when they are working properly.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-2. More than half of reported nail gun injuries are to the _____.
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