Seven Statistics on Nail Gun Hazards

Nail guns are powerful, easy to operate, and fast at driving nails. But in the wrong hands, they can cause serious injuries, as these statistics show.

1. Nail guns are responsible for an estimated 37,000 emergency room visits across the United States every year.
2. About 66 percent of nail gun injuries occur in framing and sheathing work in residential construction.
3. A study of apprentice carpenters found that about 40 percent of them were injured on one occasion while using a nail gun during their four years of training.
4. More than half of reported nail gun injuries involve the hands or the fingers.
5. One-quarter of hand injuries involve structural damage to the tendons, joints, nerves, and bones.
6. After hands, the next parts of a worker’s body most likely to be injured in a nail gun-related incident are the leg, knee, thigh, foot, and toes.
7. Injuries have resulted in paralysis, blindness, brain damage, bone fractures, and death.

Nail guns are powerful, easy to operate, and fast at driving nails. But if used improperly, they can cause devastating or even fatal injuries. Here are seven statistics with reference to nail gun hazards and injuries, provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)…