Key Takeaways
Keep the tool that injured you, its packaging and any manual, and act quickly: Georgia generally allows two years to sue (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33) and bars strict liability claims more than ten years after a product's first sale (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11(b)(2)), while South Carolina allows three years (S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5)) with no repose period. Georgia holds the manufacturer strictly liable for a defective tool, but not a seller that did not make it (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11.1). South Carolina holds any seller of a defective, unreasonably dangerous product strictly liable, retailers included (S.C. Code § 15-73-10). CPSC estimates about 30,600 emergency-room table saw blade-contact injuries a year (2010-2021 data), 96.4 percent of them to the finger in its 2017 study. The CDC reports about 36,000 emergency-room visits a year for chainsaw injuries.
You may feel in control while handling the tools in your garage, but many tools pose unexpected threats to your safety. Some consumers fail to realize the dangers of typical tools or overestimate their ability to operate them safely. Tool related accidents can result in amputation, puncture wounds, brain injury, broken bones, burn injury, and even death. Here are few standard tools that everyone should exercise caution when using.
Table Saw
The table saw is arguably the most dangerous tool a person can own. With its high-speed rotating blade, the table saw presents a risk for laceration and amputation. Despite blade guards and riving knives, table saws cause about 30,600 emergency-room blade-contact injuries a year (CPSC, 2010-2021 data); in a 2017 CPSC study, 96.4 percent involved the finger and 10.7 percent were amputations. CPSC has proposed requiring blade-stopping technology, which most saws on the market lack.
Chainsaw
Chainsaws are another dangerous tool. They present a risk of kickback injury when users cut with the tip of the bar. According to the CDC, about 36,000 people a year are treated in emergency departments for chainsaw injuries. The rotating chainsaw blade can cut through flesh as easily as wood. Use safety precautions including wearing chaps that reach the top of the foot, a helmet with face screen, hearing protection, heavy work gloves, and boots that cover the ankle.
Nail Gun
Nail guns present another user hazard. It’s easy to mishandle a nail gun or lose control of the high-powered tool. Nail guns use powerful compressed air to fire a nail into the material. Failing to realize the immense power of a nail gun can lead to severe puncture wounds to the fingers and hands. According to the CDC, about 37,000 people a year were treated in emergency departments for nail-gun injuries in 2001-2005, the latest national data, 40 percent of them consumers. Severe nail gun injuries have led to worker deaths, and NIOSH recommends full sequential triggers, because contact (bump-fire) triggers can double-fire.
Ladder
You may not think of your ladder as a dangerous tool, but slip and falls from ladders kill more than 100 people and injure thousands more each year, according to NIOSH; in 2011, ladders were involved in about 20 percent of fall injuries among U.S. workers (CDC). Misuse of ladders, such as standing at the very top of a ladder or resting an extension ladder at the wrong part of an object, can lead to injury. Even if you use a ladder correctly, inattention, fatigue, or vertigo can easily result in a fall. Falls commonly involve broken bones, concussions, and spinal cord injuries.
Power Drill
Power drills carry a hazard you may not expect. Puncture wounds are common injuries related to power drills, especially when the user is not paying attention to other workers near the drill, but electric shock can be fatal: a small power drill draws 30 times the current that can kill. Drilling into a hidden live wire, or using a drill with a damaged or ungrounded cord, can send electricity through the drill and into the user’s body; NIOSH documents a fatal shock from a drill whose frame was energized by a faulty extension cord. Knowing how to avoid live wires while drilling can help prevent these accidents.
Defective Tools
Not all tool-related injuries are due to user error. Often, a tool can malfunction and cause serious injury. For example, if a manufacturer creates a table saw with a faulty shield, the shield might not fully protect the user from contact with the rotating blade. In Georgia, the manufacturer is strictly liable for a new product that was not reasonably suited to its intended use (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11), a seller that did not make it is not (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11.1), and no strict liability claim may be brought more than ten years after the product’s first sale (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11(b)(2)). In South Carolina, anyone who sells a defective, unreasonably dangerous product, retailers included, is strictly liable (S.C. Code § 15-73-10), with no repose period. Other tools may not come with proper safety warnings or instruction labels.
Personal Injury Attorneys in Savannah
For more information about common garage and household tools known to cause significant injury, contact the Savannah personal injury attorneys at Roden Law. We have years of experience handling personal injury cases relating to manufacturer error, and we can help you file a claim against the tool manufacturer.
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Author
