Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

Nail guns cause over 100 accidents a day in the United States, many of them resulting in serious personal injuries, including traumatic brain injury and spine injuries, and, in some cases wrongful death. For those people suffering as a result of the accidents, the cost of nail gun design seems insufferably high, but nail gun manufacturers write it off as part of the cost of doing business.

One of the main reasons why some nail guns are highly dangerous is that they can be set to what is known as a contact trip mode, in which it only requires an impact on the front of the gun to cause the gun to fire a nail once the trigger is depressed. This allows a worker to hold the trigger down and hit the gun against the surface to be nailed, firing nails into the surface very quickly. However, the ease of the firing is also responsible for between 65 and 69 % of all nail gun injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nail guns are also made that do not have the contact trip mode, known as sequential firing nail guns. However, most contractors utilize the contact trip models.

Although many lawsuits have been brought against nail gun manufacturers, the manufacturers continue to make the contact trip nail guns because they are popular among employers seeking to maximize worker productivity, even at the cost of the safety of a construction site.

Perhaps, then, the contractors may be the best angle to attack this problem. If you believe your employer is making your workplace dangerous, you have the right to contact OSHA, and report him or her while enjoying qui tam protection.

But if you have already been injured and need help filing your workers' compensation claim or if you have lost a loved one and want to file a wrongful death suit, contact the construction accident attorneys at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.