Nail-Gun Incident Claims Young Life

Nail guns are extremely convenient. They can also be extremely dangerous. A construction worker in his late 20s fell while carrying a nail gun and the tool discharged a three-inch nail into his head.

An OSHA spokesman said it appears that Damon Huhtala fell while his hand was on the nail gun’s trigger. The Hayden, ID, man was placed on life support to allow his organs to be harvested for donation. Friends of Huhtala describe him as a quiet man who overcame a difficult upbringing and found religion. Fellow church members said he was likeable and uplifting.

No one witnessed the incident. Huhtala’s grandmother, Dannie McKinney, said he knew the dangers of a construction site and was extremely safety-conscious. McKinney said she hopes other construction workers will remember what happened to Huhtala and be extra-cautious while using nail guns.

The April incident was the first fatality of its kind in Idaho in almost two decades.