Defective Tools and Equipment Cause Construction Accidents

Construction workers are required to use many types of powerful tools, from nail guns and sledge hammers to hammer-jacks and skill saws. Construction workers put themselves at great risk for injury when using construction equipment. Sometimes, the tool is defective and a person is severely injured or killed as a result. The person using the defective equipment may be injured or another person at the construction site may be injured.

Injuries often occur when the user of the equipment was not properly trained how to use it. In one case reported in OSHA’s Fatal Facts Accident Report, a carpenter apprentice was killed when he was struck in the head by a nail fired from a nail gun. The nail gun was being used by a carpenter 27 feet away, and the nail traveled through a hollow wall before striking the carpenter apprentice. The nail operator was never trained on how to use the gun, and none of the employees were wearing protective equipment.

If a tool is defective, OSHA requires that the defective tool be immediately tagged and, if possible, removed from the construction area. However, tags come off; workers don't always stop and walk away from their work areas; and someone may inadvertently pick up and begin using a damaged tool.

On OSHA’s annual list of the Top Ten most frequently cited safety standard violations, machines (which includes power tools and equipment) ranked #9 in volume of citations in 2008, but it ranked #6 by degree of assessed penalties, meaning that the violations OSHA were finding were quite severe compared with other violations.

Some machines used by workers, especially mechanical power presses, forging machines and woodworking machinery, are so dangerous, according to OSHA, that special and extensive safety regulations are put in place. Nearly all power and hand tools must have some form of guarding present. Machine guarding can reduce the frequency and severity of injuries to workers, but they cannot guarantee safety.

Tools are so common at construction sites that it may be difficult for workers to remember that they pose dangerous risks. When workers are injured by defective tools, it is often because they were not aware the tool was defective in the first place.

If you or someone you love has been injured by a defective tool or equipment at a construction site, contact the construction accident attorneys of Pennsylvania. We work on cases throughout Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Uniontown, Beaver, Erie, Altoona, and Washington, PA. We will perform a free investigation of your case, hire the top experts, interview witness and get you the financial compensation that you deserve.