Weed Wacker Safety Stats and Facts

FACTS

  1. The damage a weed Wacker can inflict is severe whether from flying rocks and debris or the string of the trimmer head itself. Extreme care must be taken in both personal safety and the safety of others including the potential to damage property like windows.
  2. Lawn equipment accidents happen quickly and can be extremely dangerous, especially when they involve a string trimmer. The furious action of the turning head and plastic string can cause injury in of itself not to mention the flying dust and debris, creating a dangerous situation for both the operator and bystanders. From the noise of the engine to the potential for flying objects, weed Wackers are among the most dangerous of the lawn care tools.
  3. Over the years, various models of weed whackers, or string trimmers, have been found to have various defects that can cause injuries for users and bystanders.
    • In 2006, for example, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled Troy Bilt 4-cycle gasoline trimmers, citing a tendency for the trimmer blade to detach and become airborne, causing injuries.
    • In 2000, a recall was issued for Weed Wizard replacement trimmer heads because they contained a metal link that could become detached and cause serious injury or death to the operator and bystanders.
    • Unfortunately, many manufacturers of these devices have failed this obligation in the past, leaving weed whackers with serious safety defects on the market. In the case of the defective Weed Wizard trimmer heads, for example, the company allegedly intentionally withheld information about several serious injuries and the death of a three-year-old girl from the CPSC, thus exposing hundreds of thousands of its own customers to a serious risk of injury or wrongful death.

STATS

  • According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 60,000 injuries are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year because of unsafe operation of power lawn mowers. A separate study by Center for Injury Sciences stated that an estimated 81,907 injuries involving a lawn trimmer, more commonly referred to as a weed wacker or weed eater, occurred from 2000-2009.
  • According to a U.S. reports power lawn trimmers and weed Wacker have caused around 4,600 injuries annually that required medical attention. Injury Sciences estimated that in a period spanning nine years, there were 89,107 injuries specifically attributed to the use of lawn string trimmers.
  • An attachment for gas-powered weed Wacker has been pulled off the market after a child was killed and more than 40 others were reportedly injured by the attachment.