OCTOBER 28, 2020
How Dangerous Are Pneumatic Tools?
A construction injury can occur from using pneumatic power tools, which can serve as a danger to others and lead to long term injuries.
How dangerous are pneumatic power tools? What types of construction injury do these weapons of mass construction cause? Pneumatic power tools, including nail guns, drills, hammers, and sanders, are tools of the trade for construction workers in Kansas. While these tools can make short work of big jobs, they present significant hazards for the workers who use them. Each year, these tools cause hundreds of thousands of injuries. These include puncture wounds, amputations, fractures, lacerations, and more.
Pneumatic Nail Guns
Pneumatic nail guns are some of the most dangerous due in part to the fact that they eject a fast-moving projectile. From 1985 to 2012, pneumatic nail guns caused an average of 22,2000 injuries per year. Just under 80% of these injuries and 100% of fatalities involved construction workers.
Of the injuries, 58% were suffered on the upper extremities, including the arms and shoulders, 8% were suffered on the fingers and hands, 24% involved the lower extremities, and 10% involved the head, buttocks, and other areas.
Pneumatic Sanders
Pneumatic orbital sanders can range in size from small handheld devices to massive tools designed to sand hardwood floors and large surfaces. These tools can spin debris into the air, which can cause eye injuries, or users can become entangled in the cords and suffer deep lacerations that can quickly penetrate to the bone.
Pneumatic Drills
Pneumatic drills are designed to punch through concrete, asphalt, thick beams, and other hard surfaces. These heavy tools require proper positioning to operate. Pneumatic drills can cause significant musculoskeletal injuries. They can also fling debris and dust into the air, causing lung injuries, eye injuries, and lacerations.
We Are Hereto Help
Call for a free consultation 24/7
Air Compressor Tanks
Often, the most dangerous tool on the worksite isn't the pneumatic tool itself, it's the compressor that feeds pressurized air to the device. Damaged air compressors can burst under pressure and spread potentially deadly shrapnel through the worksite. The force of the blast can be large enough to blow clear through concrete walls.
Further, when fittings such as gauges, gaskets, nuts, bolts, etc., aren't properly attached, these can blow off and become bullets that can strike workers at high speed. These air compressors can also overheat or cause electrical shocks to workers.
Long-Term Injuries
The majority of pneumatic tool injuries are not fatal. However, they can leave the individual with a significant disability. This can include hearing loss due to the high decibels produced during operation. They can cause blinding injuries that can leave the individual with vision loss in one or both eyes. They can also cause significant musculoskeletal injuries due to the awkward postures required to use the tools and the vibrations they generate during operation.
Liability for Injuries
When a pneumatic power tool fails or causes injuries, there are many potentially liable parties. An employer can be liable for failing to provide the appropriate personal protective equipment. They can also be liable for failure to train employees properly, or failure to maintain the equipment. Further, a manufacturer can be liable for defective construction or design. When a pneumatic power tool causes injuries, a construction injury attorney can help determine who is at fault and the appropriate workers' compensation claim or type of lawsuit to pursue.
Our Wichita based personal injury lawyers are accident attorneys who have offices across Wichita and in Garden City. Our team will instantly go to work to prove accident injury victims are not at fault. You can use our contact page or get a free call at our Wichita offices at 316-684-4400 and our Garden City office at 620-843-2855.