Construction workers in Oklahoma often use nail guns as part of their jobs. Although these tools are excellent for speeding up certain tasks, they can also be dangerous when used incorrectly. According to data compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, nail gun injuries result in 37,000 emergency room visits every year.
Construction site accidents involving nail guns are most common in residential construction work. Approximately two-thirds of nail gun injuries happen while workers are completing sheathing and framing work. People who are involved in roofing, exterior siding and exterior finishing tasks are also at an elevated risk for nail gun injuries. Although they most often affect a worker’s hands, accidents with nail guns also lead to many leg, thigh and knee injuries.
Nail gun injuries are often the result of an unintended nail discharge. This may happen when a worker is using a contact trigger nail gun and the nail gun unexpectedly fires a second nail in the worker’s direction. A nail could also injure a worker after it misses its intended target or hits a metal feature and ricochets. Workers are commonly injured by nail guns after they have disabled certain safety features or while they are working in awkward positions.
Construction workers might incur a nail gun injury because of a judgment error that they made themselves or because of another person’s negligence. Either way, they may want to file a claim workers’ compensation benefits after being injured by a nail gun. Regardless of fault, an injured worker may be entitled to benefits that would cover medical care and a percentage of wages lost while they are recovering.
Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, “Nail Gun Safety”, accessed on March 1, 2015