While considered “simple tools” by safety experts, both hand tools and power tools must be given respect not only for their efficiency in getting things done but in their ability to cause catastrophic bodily injuries in an instant. Tools used by workers in a variety of industrial worksites can be extremely dangerous and even life-threatening.
What is the difference between a tool and a piece of equipment or machinery in a factory, mine, mill, or construction site? They all help workers accomplish their tasks. However, from the perspective of safety regulations and industrial standards, tools are generally handheld. Each tool has a specific function. They may be manually operated or come with an external power source (battery, cord). Tools usually involve some need of precision or focus, such as a hammer for a nail.
Commonplace Hand Tools and Power Tools in the Workplace
Different industries will require different types of tools, machinery, and equipment, of course. The things needed by a roofer in a commercial construction site will be very different from a shift welder in a steel mill. However, most industrial workers will reach for hand tools or power tools in the course of their work that come with significant injury risks. These include:
- Wire strippers
- Cable strippers
- Chain saws
- Tappers
- Fastener drivers
- Abrasive wheels
- Grinders
- Sanders
- Jig saws
- Saber saws
- Nail guns
- Mowers
- Routers
- Planers
- Trimmers
- Circular saws
- Crimpers
- Voltage testers
- Wrenches
- Pliers
- Ratchets
- Screwdrivers
- Hacksaws
- Knives
- Files
- Hammers
- Drills
- Drivers
- Impact wrenches
- Reciprocating saws.
Any of these tools can cause permanent, life-altering harm in a work accident. Accordingly, specific safety laws and regulations mandate that employers must protect people against tool injuries. Most jobsites will be under the safety laws that apply to general industry; however, for those working in construction or in the maritime industry there are distinct sets of federal regulations regarding tool safety on the job.
For workers in our industrial worksites here in Illinois and Indiana, it is extremely important they know that under the law, they are owed duties of safety and care while on the job to keep them safe from being hurt by a hand tool or power tool. They have a legal right to be safe from a tool accident injury while on the job.
Employers’ Duty of Care to Protect Against Tool Accident Injuries
There are federal regulations on the books that define legal duties for employers in keeping workers safe on the job. The OSHA State Plans of Illinois and Indiana oversee these safety measures. Our State Plans are required to have both (1) standards and (2) enforcement of those standards which are “…at least as effective as OSHA’s and may have different or more stringent requirements.”
For more, read Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
General Industry Protections
Most industrial workers in our part of the country will be covered by the General Industry Standards found in 29 CFR 1910 Subpart P. Here the employer (and their insurance carrier) will find legal duties for things like “hand and portable powered tools and equipment, general” (1910.242) and “guarding of portable powered tools” (1910.243).
Special Industries
Within these protections are those for hand and power tool use in “special industries,” found in 29 CFR 1910 Subpart R. These include paper mills (1910.261); bakeries (1910.263); laundries (1910.264); and logging operations (1910.266).
Construction Industry
Our construction workers are protected under a separate set of federal safety standards found in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart I. This is particularly important for workers to know, because the risk of injury on a construction site is extremely high – construction work is one of the most dangerous ways to earn a living in Illinois or Indiana. See, What Is The Most Dangerous Job in Indiana and Illinois?
Construction sites are heavily regulated and employers as well as others with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the construction site project have legal duties of worker safety regarding hand and power tools that include:
- 1926.301, Hand tools
- 1926.302, Power-operated hand tools
- 1926.303, Abrasive wheels and tools
- 1926.304, Woodworking tools
- 1926.305, Jacks-lever and ratchet, screw, and hydraulic
- 1926.306, Air receivers
- 1926.307, Mechanical power-transmission apparatus.
For more, read: Power Tools and the Risk of Serious or Deadly Construction Accidents.
Maritime Industry
Likewise, workers in our maritime industry have legal protections against tool accident injuries in a special section of safety laws which are located in 29 CFR 1915, 1917, 1918.
While fewer people are employed in maritime endeavors in Illinois and Indiana than in other parts of the country, maritime work is still a significant participant in our local economies. Waterway users include those involved with the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and other marine transports and include coordination of goods and cargo with warehousing, trucking, and rail activity. See, e.g., Carrier Profiles and Economic Impact of the Illinois Marine Transportation System, published by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Maritime workers are covered by defined legal duties for tool safety that include 1915 Subpart H (tools and related equipment); 1917 Subpart C (hand tools in cargo handling); and 1918 Subpart G (tools other than ship’s gear).
Work Injuries Caused by Hand Tools or Power Tools
Professionals on the jobsite understand the hazards they face each day as they go about their jobs, and the hazards of using tools are not a mystery. Sadly, failures of employers to do things like proper inspection, care, or repair of worksite tools as well as failures in design, manufacturer, or maintenance of tools on the site by third parties can and do cause catastrophic injuries in a matter of seconds.
Industrial tools are designed to do tough jobs. Power tools in proper working operation stand ready to cut through wood or to grind through metal. Traditional hand tools like hacksaws and knives can cause debilitating or even deadly harm, where bleeding alone can be life-threatening.
Tools can result in worker injuries that include:
- Amputation (loss of finger, toe, hand, arm, foot, leg, in laceration or crushing incidents)
- Blindness from flying debris (such as metal shards)
- Burns from electric exposure (like exposed live wires or faulty cords)
- Cuts with extensive bleeding or lacerations of nerves, muscles, internal organs
- Electrocution resulting in death
- Electric shock injuries to the nervous system
- Puncture resulting in potentially serious or deadly infection (such as a nail gun strike).
For more, read: Amputation Injuries from On-the-Job Work Accidents in Indiana or Illinois; Industrial Accidents: Electricity Hazards on the Job; and Internal Injuries After an Accident Can Be Silent and Deadly.
Liability for Tool Accident Injuries on the Job
After a serious or deadly work accident involving a hand tool or power tool, the worker victim and their loved ones may have legal avenues for justice with the employer that signs the worker’s paycheck as well as other parties who have failed in their legal duties of safety.
Workers’ compensation will provide help to the worker without having to show fault. However, an independent investigation of the tool accident may reveal that other parties have legal liability for the accident and its consequences. This can include other contractors, as well as professionals on the construction site, for instance. It may also involve those responsible for the defect in the tool itself, either in its design; manufacture; marketing (failures to warn); repair or maintenance.
For more, read:
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages
- Who Can Be Held Liable for Construction Worker Accidents?
- Worker Injuries Involving Industrial Equipment, Machinery, or Tools
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life.
Workers here in Indiana and Illinois face some of the most dangerous workplaces in the country each and every day as they earn their living. Tools are a must for almost every job or task, and yet they may be the cause of a catastrophic accident because of a legal breach of duty by employers or others at the worksite. Please be careful out there!
