What a Bloody Mess!

Late Summer 2019 - This article is not for the faint hearted. In fact, if you have a weak stomach when it comes to gruesome injuries, we suggest you skip the next page. These are real on-the-job bloody injuries farmed from a social media post in the Spray Foam World Wide Facebook group. These are common injuries that our spray foamers encounter and are typical for the type of job we all do. They serve as a reminder that we all need to wear proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), run risk hazard assessments before a job, and rope off dangerous areas. We will cover the injury, the cause, and suggest ways to prevent such injuries in the future.

From using hammers, closing doors, and moving drums/equipment, we have opportunities every day to smash or pinch a finger, hand, leg and toe. Our first submission, reflects an example of where an air compressor fell over and crushed a spray foam applicators finger.

The possibility of equipment falling is why we should always wear steel toed shoes and when moving heavy equipment and drums we should use protective gloves. Prior to deciding the adequate PPE, conduct a risk assessment analysis before each job to identify potential hazards. Then use engineering controls such as guards or barriers to prevent the potential hazard.

Everyone of us has bumped our heads on a rafter, pipe or overhang then felt dumb for not seeing it. We shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves because head injuries are very common. Sometimes we are just left with the embarrassment and it’s no big deal, but other times it could be quite serious.

One poor guy cut his head on a nail penetrating from a roof deck, while he was in the attic blowing cellulose. Maybe if he was spraying foam it wouldn’t have happened or, better yet, wearing a hard hat. He said the injury wasn’t serious, but it could have been as with any injury there’s always a possibility of getting an infection.

Another contributor shared a story where he was on a roof by himself and knocked himself out by standing up too fast and hitting his head on a roof top fire hydrant. Luckily, he didn’t end up falling off the roof after being knocked out cold. I don’t see a lot of hardhats on SPF jobs. Maybe that would be a good idea?  

This next injury was very serious. A guy fell through a metal roof with a corner of the metal tearing into his leg. A piece of metal was holding him up from falling further. He had numerous stitches and is incredibly lucky to survive such an accident.

The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) Data Center study, “Fatal Falls from Roofs Among U.S. Construction Workers,” found that falls from roofs accounted for one-third of fall-related construction fatalities from 1992-2009. Using safety lines, edge barriers, and tie offs are very important when working on roofs. Conducting a risk assessment is also important. Check the roof from the inside also to identify old skylights and signs of rust or weak areas.

Another poor man stepped in a hole and broke his fibula and tibia like a matchstick. He said, “It is a life altering injury where I will not be able to walk the same again.”

Accidents do happen and maybe this one would have been hard to prevent if the hole was hidden by overgrown grass or some other obstruction. Before a job, we should all take the time to look for similar hidden hazards which will help prevent such catastrophes.

Finally, our last unfortunate fella says, “Don’t hang your nail gun on your jacket.” I have little experience with nail guns, but I’m assuming this is not the manufacturer recommended holstering position. He said it’s nearly an automatic trigger and got three nails with one trigger pull (one nail had already been pulled out before he took the photo).

That’s not the shocking part about all this. Two other people commented saying they’ve also had similar nail gun injuries! I’ll make sure to stay away from nail guns. I’d rather smash my thumb thank you.

These are just a few of the injuries posted and I’m sure only a very small percentage of all the injuries our spray foam contractors have endured over the years. These pictures serve as a harsh reminder that anyone of us could be injured on the job, in a second, any day of the week. From just the examples in this article, I would make sure to wear hardhats in attics, use proper handling techniques with nail guns, make sure all equipment is secure, and rope off all slip, trip, and fall areas. We need to be vigilant with safety by wearing the proper PPE, running risk assessments before a job, and using equipment properly.