What kinds of hand tools are the most dangerous?

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the “greatest hazards posed by hand tools result from misuse and improper maintenance.” They give four examples of the ways hand tools can cause injuries to construction workers:

• “If a chisel is used as a screwdriver, the tip of the chisel may break and fly off, hitting the user or other employees.
• If a wooden handle on a tool, such as a hammer or an axe, is loose, splintered, or cracked, the head of the tool may fly off and strike the user or other employees.
• If the jaws of a wrench are sprung, the wrench might slip.
• If impact tools such as chisels, wedges, or drift pins have mushroomed heads, the heads might shatter on impact, sending sharp fragments flying toward the user or other employees.”

But these are not the only dangerous hand tools. Every year workers are seriously injured when using:

• Non-powered saws
• Paint sprayers
• Hammers
• Nail guns
• Sanders
• Drills
• Grinders
• Impact wrenches
• Blow torches (and other tools which can cause burns)
• Wire strippers or pliers

Smaller tools like these are necessary on construction sites. If you sustain an injury after using one, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation to help you while you recover from your injury. If your injury is permanent or if it causes you disfigurement – the loss of an eye, nerve damage, burn scars – you may also be entitled to a specific lump sum of money under Pennsylvania’s disfigurement and specific loss benefits.

No matter how you are injured at work, the Philadelphia worker’s compensation lawyers of Larry Pitt & Associates are here to help. We fight on behalf of injured workers throughout Pennsylvania. Please contact us to find out more about our services. We proudly serve Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.