Nail Gun Injuries and Unguarded Shafts

Man shot in the heart with a nail gun, lucky to be alive. 

A worker has been given $15,000 after a colleague accidentally shot him in the heart with a nail gun at a mattress and bed manufacturer based in South Auckland.

In September 2019, a worker went to free a coil hose that connected his nail gun to the air supply line when the trigger was engaged, firing a nail into the chest of the worker who was walking behind him. The man could not return to work for three months, as the nail had to be surgically removed.

WorkSafe New Zealand area manager Danielle Henry said, 'There was a real risk that other workers could come into contact with an operator's nail gun, and that's exactly what happened, clear exclusion zones should've been marked out around work-stations where nail guns were in use.'

The importance of adequate risk assessments and exclusion zones is what WorkSafe NZ wants businesses to remember, especially when powered tools are being used.

The manufacturing company appeared in the Manukau District Court on March 29 and was issued a NZ$250,000 fine and ordered to pay reparation of NZ$15,000 to the victim.

The original article can be found on the WorkSafe NZ website.

Timber mill fined $50,000 following the death of a worker. 

In May 2018, a worker dragged into the unguarded shaft of a conveyor belt and pinned against a metal upright when removing rejected timber from a moulding machine. He died at the scene after suffering multiple injuries.

The labour hire employee had commenced work at the timber mill in February 2018. The agency was unaware that the worker was moved into a new role in a different factory section before the incident.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Julie Nielsen said the labour hire company should have done more.

'This includes making sure the host does not give their employees new or different tasks, especially tasks unrelated to their experience and qualifications.' Ms Nielsen said.

The recruitment agency pleaded guilty in the Wangaratta Magistrates Court to a single charge of failing to provide and maintain a safe work system and ordered to pay $10,438.

The timber mill operator is also facing charges over the incident.

The full article can be found on the WorkSafe Vic website.