Employee of mine, got into a fight with his nail gun, and lost. That tough SOB pulled it out with a pair of pliers, wrapped his finger in tape, and went back to work. Check it out.
Your employee is tough, but not the smartest guy on the block. He should make sure the wound is cleaned out, so it doesn't get infected and lay him off of work for a while.
Yes, actually that did happen to me once. Went in straight though, not on an angle. He's right didn't hurt too bad until the next day and there was very little blood.
I shot myself in the palm last summer building a set of stairs. It was the first time and hopefully the last. It didn't go through but it didn't feel very good that's for sure. The worst was that I finished the stairs that day and then had to dig out 7 tonnes of dirt by hand for another set of stairs I built along side a house with no bobcat access.
Nailed three fingers together once. Pulled my fingers off the nail that was through a stud and kept working.
Had one enter my hand, on the side, just below my thumb, it exited on the other side, just below my pinkie finger. That one was surgically removed. The head was buried below the skin, tried to push it back out with pliers but it wouldn't go.
I never shot through, caught the edge of the fingers a few times when I first started using them, it was the small infection I am assuming is from the glue on the nails that always caused the ache...thank God for percocets
I had a guy do that with a staple wacker once. Wasn't the brightest bulb in the fixture.
We were working at a BK setting new fascia and he was reinstalling their ad signs at the end of the day. He was getting so pissed at the drive thru customers and he yelled back at one "just hold on a damn minute!" While at the same time slapping that thing full bore... into his index and middle finger.
All my foreman could do was laugh his head off cause he had been telling him to pay attention the whole time.
He said "get the pliers!" And when my foreman was about to he just kept screaming "NOT YET! NOT YET!"
Long story short they agreed to go on a 3 count, foreman went on 2.
Surprisingly he did show up the next day after some stitches.
I've done it with finish guns before... my goocher this year was throwing a 4' 2x pretty hard to the trash pile and a folded over 16d hooked the middle of my middle finger, came out the tip and practically yanked my arm out of the socket. Hurt for days.
My closest call would have been a staple coming through the edge of some 1x as I was framing some scenery. Didn't break skin though, just banged me pretty good. I'm always careful to have my hand further away from where the fastener is going than the fastener is long.
I was always amused when in college the freshman actors in the tech class were afraid of the tiny upholstery stapler. Most things were assembled with staples then so we didn't us the framing nailer or the Corg gun much
I would never go right back to working after that no way in hell. Main reason is infection from the stuff that got pushed under the skin. That has to be flushed out immediately.
Another serious issue is nerve damage.
I dont need to play warrior on a job site to prove I'm a man. If I'm hurt I'm going to the hospital.
I had almost the same exact injury. Except it was 2 nails, one high and one low, double shot FTW... I pulled them out easy enough then I took lunch afterwards and my hand was throbbing so bad. I went back to work and picked up the gun and noticed the nails in it were rusty as hell. I couldn't remember the last time I had a tetanus shot so I told the foreman I need to go the emergency room.
I didn't think I broke anything but an x-ray revealed that I clipped the bone and scorped it out. I needed a cast for a month.
I was lucky this didn't happen on my jobsite. My employee was working in his basement, when the framing nailer double shot, and hit him in the finger.
The official story is, that he was joking around taking pictures for a good 10 minutes before pulling it out. He's one crazy dude. I'd be screaming bloody murder.
Wouldn't of mattered.. Its all about character.. If he took the time. O take pictures and make a joke of it.. You never had worries s.. I remember being on a jobsite cutting open bundles with a dulled blade.. Struggling across the straps.. Cut one.. Iet go and i stabbed myself in the forearm..... I tied it off an installed 700sf that day... Next day sore as fu ck and till went to work..... I never made a claim
If you read any EMS protocol for something like this..they say to rap it with gauze and take it to the hospital for removal. Its not so much the initial injury but the infection that can occur afterward. Not only from tetanus, but bacteria.
Your employee is tough, but not the smartest guy on the block. He should make sure the wound is cleaned out, so it doesn't get infected and lay him off of work for a while.
I did one real similar to that but it was in my thumb, pulled it out and worked late...Throbbed the next day. Wish I'd had a camera phone back then (this was 11-12 years ago), I always said that if it happened again I'd put a make it a piercing... Then this happened and I decided it would not be a convenient place to have a piercing
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