Monday, January 18, 2010

US ER’s treat 31,500 table saw injuries per year

What’s your most valuable tool?
Your hands.
A recent study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that from 1990-2007, an estimated 565,670 non-occupational table saw-related injuries were treated in US hospital emergency departments, averaging 31,500 injuries per year.
According to the study, lacerations (66 percent) were the most common type of injury while amputations (10 percent) were the most serious. The majority of injuries (86 percent) were to the fingers or thumb. Males (97 percent) and adults (97 percent) accounted for the majority of table saw-related injuries. In comparison to adults, children were more likely to injure their heads, faces and necks and to be injured at school.
Most of the table saw-related injuries resulted from contact with the blade of the saw. In cases when the mechanism of injury was documented, kickback was the most common mechanism (72 percent), followed by debris being thrown by the saw (10 percent), lifting or moving the saw (6 percent), or getting a glove or clothing caught in the blade (4 percent).

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