Have you, or anyone you've known, had a chaninsaw accident ? Could you describe the probably cause and extent of the injuries ?

I feel like I should update my meager collection of PPE when using my chainsaw, and I discovered that looking at medical photos of chainsaw accidents on the internet was a pretty good motivator. BUT, I'd like to hear from the great Sigforum on this topic, since I know lots of you guys own, have used at home, or have used chainsaws in various professions and trades.

Any other opinions regarding PPE, not necessarily chainsaw related, would be helpful too, since I know PPE is important across all trades and professions, and I know there's lots of guys who use or have used PPE in many capacities.

Yes I've had a few over the years.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Yes I've had a few over the years.

Uhhh

Details. He asked for details

While cutting apart some branches, a cut piece relieved some tension and sent the bar toward my lower leg where it cut through the outer layer of my coveralls. It was a close call and a reminder to be careful.

When using a chainsaw, I normally wear coveralls, work boots, ear muffs, goggles, and a particulate breathing filter. After that close call, I cut some pieces of 4" corrugated plastic pipe so they would slip over my lower legs. They have some in handy at least once in deflecting falling wood.

Some also wear a hard hat with a screened face shield.

I have not, but I've had one near miss plus a wake-up call.

The near miss was when I was bucking some felled wood, got a bit careless, and missed my shin by that >< much with the running chain

The wake-up call was when I was limbing a small tree, thought I knew where the branch would go when I cut it free, and got bonked on the head. Luckily it was a small branch.

I now wear heavy boots, chaps, and a helmet with integral face shield and ear protection when using my chain saws. Except when I'm using just the pole saw, then I use just the helmet. (Unlikely to hit my leg with a chain at the end of a long pole .)

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:
When using a chainsaw, I normally wear coveralls, ...

Coveralls, jeans, what-have-you are nowhere close to sufficient. You might as well be wearing shorts for all the protection they offer.

I ran a chain saw in the woods for about 8 years, did a lot of firewood cutting on the weekends, but rarely fire up a saw these days. We were cutting survey lines thru old clear cuts and mostly thru virgin old growth forests. My only injury from a chain saw was the one time I sharpened the chain without gloves. Pealed the skin right off my thumb. On the job we were required to wear chaps. The closest call to a serious injury came in a 105 degree temp in about a 5 year old clear cut that the brush had grown back to almost 10 feet tall. I was popping salt tablets and drinking tons of water and pushing myself. I remember having to walk back about 15 feet to look at how my line was doing, then walk back and start cutting again. I did that 3 or 4 times, each time getting smacked in the face by some leaves. On the last time I walked thru the leaves, I paused to see what it was. Yep! Poison Oak! Luckily I don’t get poison oak, but I took it down, then continued cutting brush till I got to an old rotten log from the original logging. I put a foot up on the log and laid the saw down on my leg, but I was so tired I ended up setting the bar down on my leg. The chaps stopped it, but I could see my jeans thru the remaining threads of the chaps. I just looked at it dumfounded for what seemed the longest time, then decided it was time to shut the saw down and take a break. Too many close calls to mention here.

Looking back now I see that I've been pretty lucky to not have been seriously injured. I've done some stupid things with a chainsaw in a tree. Leaning out too far, not securing the ladder, misjudging where a limb would fall. I'm just a DIY'er with a small saw.

I had a close call where a limb hit the ladder and I had to bail from 10 feet up. I once dropped a big section of tree on my shared fence.

Smashed my hand because I had the saw in one hand and tried to roll a log with the other when I really should have put the saw down.

Just stupid stuff where I should have known better.

Don't neglect saw maintenance. A chain kicking off fine particulate isn't cutting well. I wear an N95 if I'm cutting cedar, it seems to bother me a lot.

i was walking in knee deep snow, knocking down 6" trees for the next season's firewood with a chainsaw that didn't idle with the chain stopped.

i lost my balance, the slow rotating chain caught me just above the left knee, cutting the the pants, into the leg.

fortunately, the emergency center was able to use a band aid/gauze with no stitches required.

a lucky day for sure.

The safety chaps are great if you are cutting toward your legs at all. Under the vinyl cover is a bunch of tangled cord. Our local power tool has a pair that made a “save” very quickly. What happens is the balled up cord snags the chain and stops it cold very quickly. I’ve cut PVC pipe with a chainsaw. I’d take the chaps over pipe any day, though schedule 40 or better yet 80 PVC is better than nothing.

My closest call involved a pole saw and an oak tree. Pole saws seem really safe as I don’t see how you could cut yourself with a saw that you hold by the motor end that has the chain on the other end and won’t go any shorter than ten feet. I was cutting a large coast live oak limb (maybe 12-14” diameter at the cut, extending ~25’ beyond the cut) on the downhill side of the tree that was crowding the road. I was on a slope with a foot or so of leaf litter. I should have seen it coming, but didn’t. When the limb started to give up, it drooped quite a bit, bring the tip closer. Then the tip hit the ground and it broke free at the tree end. Since the tip had “come in”, it acted as a pivot point and the cut end came uphill a fair bit. I started getting a little uncomfortable when it started moving and backed uphill as quickly as I could (not very in that leaf litter on that slope). The cut end of the branch hit the brim of my ballcap, knocking it off my head, brushed my chest leave a very slight red mark, and sort of land on my foot (leaf litter save me there). The foot was bruised for a few days, but not badly. Had I been able to move four inches less out of the way I’d have been DRT very quickly.

I’ve had a saw kick back once or twice, but never far enough to hit me, and the inertial brake stopped the chain every time anyway.

Like a gun, a chainsaw is a powerful tool and should be used carefully.

I haven't been injured with a chain saw, though have had kickbacks, and do wear protective gear when sawing. I picked up a victim from a chain saw mishap, on an ambulance flight years ago. The victim took a chainsaw to the face during a kickback, and was bleeding profusely. Facial dressings were soaked with blood and substantial facial damage was evident.

The patient was lucid and talking, and was focused on ensuring that his employer knew he might be late for work.

My answer is 'kinda'. I was holding a Stihl chainsaw when this happened, but the cause was my monumental stupidity.

I opted to attempt to cut off a 6"+ oak limp that was hanging from a neighbor's tree and under compression. To cut where I thought I needed to to release the compression, I had to climb up to the top of an 8' ladder to reach the point of cut. When I got 3/4 of the way through the cut, the compression on the limb caused it to break through and swing in a 180 degree arch taking the ladder completely out from under me. So here I was falling 8' to the ground with a running chainsaw in my hands. So I threw the saw as far as I could as I crashed down into the brush laying beneath me shoulders and back first. Somehow god must have been watching over me and all I suffered were some abrasions and bruises and a wicked case of whiplash. Needless to say I'll never do that again.

My younger brother hit a knot one time and bounced that saw into his leg. I dont remember all the details of how it happened, but thankfully it didn't go too deep...he got away with about 10 stitches, iirc. He now wears chaps.

I can think of 3 relatives, maybe 4 that have. These were legs up to the knee area, no face. All were completely recoverable. The worst I have done is put a cut in my boot.

Much can be attributed to trying to go to fast, fatigue, or just letting your guard down. Certain ways of cutting with the tip can be higher risk.

I’ve been a casual cutter for decades, ‘cut’ my teeth(figuratively speaking)in the pulp woods of MI’s upper Peninsula.

There’s a saying in aviation about, ‘don’t fly your plane someplace your mind hasn’t already been’. That thought can be applied to chain-sawing. There are types of cutting much riskier than others. A simple log length on the ground can be no big deal. One can end up with a tree hung up under tension where things get tricky fast. There may be a ‘widow-maker’ waiting to fall on you.

I’ll be cutting today, helping a neighbor. To stay fresh, I’ll likely not go over 2 tanks of fuel before rotating activities.

Having grown up in a logging town in Washington State around the Olympic Peninsula been around 2 chainsaw accidents and one death from tree falling and flying tree splinters.

The 1st accident It was around 1972 it involved free firewood on the weekend of scrap timber on a landing. A older guy, professional logger who got a new smaller chainsaw that he was not used to. (I don't remember any chainsaws back than having a chain brake.) Their (the pros) normal chainsaws back then were huge I want to say around 125 CC and very heavy. He had it kick back severely on a big knot... it cut off most of his nose and got into his forehead it was one very bloody mess. He did have his metal logger helmet on and wire frame glasses. I was only about 11 years old at the time, but remember it like it was yesterday. Never ever line a chainsaw up to your head was my lesson on that one.

#2 involved my roommate in the early 1980s. He worked at a small engine / chainsaw shop. He had built a highly modified chainsaw for the upcoming logging show and was testing it on a log about 20" dia. outside next to our garage. He changed postion during the cut and got one of his feet to close to the path of the chainsaw chain and it cut right through a heavy leather boot and well into his foot.

I always use Chainsaw Apron Chaps and a Industrial Forestry Safety Helmet with steel toe boots with running chainsaws.

I've been bumped on the head by a branch, but never cut.

I wear a helmet/face shield, cut resistant gloves, chaps and steel toe boots when cutting. I also set small goals and never cut for more than an hour without a break.

Me personally, I have not, but when I was 15 my Dad had been outside doing something with 1 of his 4 chainsaws. Mom & I were inside & Dad came inside. We heard him come inside & thought he was just taking a restroom break. My Mom realized it was taking longer than usual & that he had the water running in the sink for quite a bit so she hollered out, "Are you ok?" Dad opens the bathroom door & hollers back, "I might need to go to the emergency room." Both calm as can be.

Mom rushes to him & blood is gushing all down the drain. Dad managed to cut 3 fingers to the bone & 1 completely off. Dad wraps his hand up in some towels, Mom grabbed ice for his finger & off to the hospital we all go.

That hand never healed correctly. After that he could only open his hand up to maybe 3/4ths of the way. I think he ended up having 7 surgeries total. I believe he got bone infections that were extremely slow to heal. I remember a dinosaur skeleton-looking brace contraption that he had to attach bands to several times a day for therapy exercises.

I was 21 when I got married the 1st time (I'm on my 2nd marriage now) & I think that was around the time of the last surgery he had on it because it was very formal attire & we had him wear white gloves & it was quite the process to get the glove over the swelling he had at the time. That hand was always swollen a huge amount after that & all his fingers on that limb looked like overstuffed sausages.

My Dad passed a little over a year ago. When I went to visit my family (I live in a different state) last time, my Mom wanted us to use some of Dad's equipment just to keep it running & my brother showed me how to use the chainsaw. They just gave me the smallest one, showed me how to use it & supervised me the entire time. I just trimmed off tiny inch or 2 twig type branches but I didn't maime myself.

One of my brothers worked for a tree company for a while and was up in a tree on spikes & harness doing some work with a chain saw when the chain broke. He wasn't one for PPE or safety standards so it cut his face from the jawline to the hairline. He was lucky to keep his left eye. The wound healed up well so the scar wasn't too noticeable after a while.

My accident was similar to airbubba. After the ice storm here in 2009 I came back from Atlanta to help my dad clean things up. On one of the days, I was tired and careless and lowered the saw after cutting some head-high mess of branches. Fortunately my I had released the trigger before the chain hit my right thigh. Had a 5" gash that I cleaned then packed with Neosporin before covering with gauze and going back to the task at hand. My wound also healed up well and now the scar is barely visible.

I always wear safety glasses or a shield, hearing protection, long pants, and boots but, since then, I'm more mindful of how tired I am and either take longer breaks, or knock off entirely, if I feel that I might be getting careless.

Yes, I have. I was up in a large cedar, bringing it down limb by limb. Those little stobs on a cedar were getting in my way, so I foolishly took the saw, wide open, down the side of the tree..right into my left leg. The cut was to the bone, and severed an artery. I guess it should be noted that it was completely painless. I knew I hit my leg, but was unsure if I was cut. Luckily, my wife was nearby and got me to the hospital.

The cut was just above my knee. The Dr cauterized the artery, straightened the edges of the cut, and stitched me up. Because of the location, I had to wear a brace to prevent me bending my leg. Crutches for about a month, and I was good to go.

After that, wife made me buy and use chaps...and stay out of trees.

I got my knee with a chain once, took out a big chunk of flesh, and a little bone. Thank goodness the saw was not running at time time. It slipped while I was sharpening it freehand.

Then there was the time a co-worker cut my fingers (one of them off) with an electric hedge clipper. The hand surgeon did a great job, still have the scars 50 years later, but I lost very little function.

My most memorable accident was when my employee chose to use his thigh as a saw horse to cut a 2x4 with a skillsaw. That was not pretty, and he didn't even manage to get the cut square.

Not me. But my uncle did. Some how had a saw kick back and bounce. It was a small chain saw he was one handing & holding the log with free hand. Landed right in the "V" of this thumb. ER Ortho guy was on call and able to stitch it back together.