title: Serious injury and fatality investigations involving pneumatic nail guns, 1985-2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This article examines serious and fatal pneumatic nail gun (PNG) injury investigations for workplace, tool design, and human factors relevant to causation and resulting OS&H authorities' responses in terms of citations and penalties.
  
  
  METHODS
  The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) database of Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries (F&CIS) were reviewed (1985-2012) to identify n = 258 PNG accidents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  79.8% of investigations, and 100% of fatalities, occurred in the construction industry. Between 53-71% of injuries appear to have been preventable had a safer sequential trigger tool been used. Citations and monetary penalties were related to injury severity, body part injured, disabling of safety devices, and insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Differences may exist between construction and other industries in investigators interpretations of PNG injury causation and resulting citations/penalties. Violations of PPE standards were penalized most severely, yet the preventive effect of PPE would likely have been less than that of a safer sequential trigger.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: James T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Albers
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Hudock
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.
authors.forename: Edward F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Krieg
mesh_terms: D060389:Construction Industry / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004869:Equipment Safety / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D000067393:Personal Protective Equipment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: accident investigation; pneumatic nail gun; struck by; traumatic injury; trigger safety