Nail Gun Accident Injury Lawyers in NYC

Nail guns are a useful and easy tool that boosts the productivity of construction workers and are used on many construction projects. Unfortunately, nail gun accidents are common hazards on construction sites in New York City. Nail gun accidents send over thirty-seven thousand (37,000) people to emergency rooms every year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sixty-eight percent (68%) of nail gun accidents are work-site related incidents and a leading cause of injury to all carpenters. Nail gun injuries can be puncture wounds in the hands, eyes, or feet, and even lead to death. Nail guns are a significant safety concern to New York workers.

Construction sites are dangerous places and construction site safety is very important for workers, property owners, and contractors. Nail gun safety is an important aspect of any construction site safety program because nail gun accidents are very common and dangerous. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that 2 out of 5 residential carpenter apprentices experienced a nail gun injury over a four-year period. Nail gun accidents hospitalize more construction workers than any other tool-related injury.

The New York construction accident lawyers of Pazer Epstein Jaffe Fein & Gozenput, P.C. have helped construction workers obtain compensation for construction site related injuries for over fifty (50) years.

Types of Nail Guns Accidents

Most nail gun accidents involve hands and fingers on construction sites. Over forty percent (40%) of all carpenters will be involved in a nail gun accident. Nail gun accidents happen in various ways:

• Lack of Protective Equipment
• Use of Contact Trigger Nail Guns – Very dangerous and contractors should require the use of Sequential Firing Nail Guns on the job
• Lack of Training
• Use of Very High-Powered Nail Guns
• Improper Safety Procedures

Common Nail Gun Injuries

Nail guns can cause all kinds on injuries and lead to excessive bleeding and even death. Some common nail gun injuries are as follows:

• Eye injury
• Puncture Wounds – Head, Hand, Finger, Thigh, Foot
• Hearing Problems – From loud sounds and repeated use of nail gun
• Broken Bones or Fractures – From nail penetration
• Nerve Damage – Caused from excessive use of nail guns
• Sprains
• Strains
• Infections
• Massive blood loss
• Organ Damage

New York Construction Site Safety and Labor Law

New York Labor law Sections 200, 240, and 241(6) help protect workers on construction sites. Different sections of the law provide different types of protection for different hazards of employment. For instance, Section 240 is known as the “scaffold law,” and protects generally against falling workers, falling objects and other height-related accident. Conversely, Section 200 imposes more of a general negligence standard to construction site accidents and liability. New York Labor Law §241(6) provides:

Construction, excavation, demolition work – All contractors and owners and their agents, except owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work, when constructing or demolishing buildings or doing any excavating in connection therewith, shall comply with these requirements:

All areas in which construction, excavation or demolition work is being performed shall be so constructed, shored, equipped, guarded, arranged, operated, and conducted as to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety to the persons employed therein or lawfully frequenting such places. The commissioner may make rules to carry into effect the provisions of this subdivision, and the owners and contractors and their agents for such work, except owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work, shall comply therewith.

The legislative purpose of §241(6) is to “give [workers] in the hazardous employment of construction, demolition, and excavation added protection, other than [workers’] compensation, in the form of non-delegable duties upon the owner and general contractor” (see Allen v. Cloutier Constr. Corp., 44 N.Y.2d 290, 405 N.Y.S.2d 630 [1978]).

Free Consultation with New York Construction Accident Lawyers

The personal injury law firm of Pazer Epstein Jaffe Fein & Gozenput, P.C. is committed to workplace safety. And construction workers. Nail gun accidents are all too common in New York. New York Labor Law requires that employers provide a reasonably safe work environment for their employees and you need a law firm that understands construction accidents and New York Labor Law. If you have been injured on a construction site, we are here to help recover financial compensation for the damages you suffered.

We encourage any worker hurt in an accident to contact our personal injury lawyers for a free consultation. New York Law limits the time to file a claim. We are in New York City and may be reached at (212) 847-5007 or in Long Island at (718) 954-9986.