Hitatchi Koki Coil Nail Gun Recall Issued After 15 Injuries, Blindness

A Hitachi Coil Nailer recall has been issued after 15 people in the U.S. and three people in Canada reported suffering an injury from the defective nail guns. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada announced a recall of the Coil Nailer on March 11, saying that the nail guns have a defective feeder mechanism that sometimes fires out the nails sideways. The CPSC and Health Canada warned that the nail guns pose a serious injury hazard to the users or bystanders.

In the U.S., Hitachi Koki Co. Ltd. has received 37 reports of nails being fired out of the gun sideways, 15 of those cases resulted in injuries. The CPSC said that the most frequent injuries were to the eyes, in some cases resulting in partial blindness. Canadian officials also reported three injuries, one of which also resulted in partial blindness.

The nail guns are used to fire nails into wood, drywall and other materials. Coil nail guns hold long, flexible nail strips that allow them to carry more of a nail payload than traditional stick nail guns. They fire the nails into surfaces pneumatically.

About 65,000 Hitachi Coil Nailers have been affected by the recall; 50,000 in the U.S. and 15,000 in Canada. All of the recalled nail guns have a model number of NV83A2, which can be found on the body. The recall affects coil nailers manufactured between October 2002 and September 2005. The manufacturing date can be found at the end of the serial number on the end of the handle. The first digit represented the month and the second digit represents the year. Months January through September correspond with numbers 1-9, while October, November and December are represented by the first letter in the name of the month. The year is represented by the last digit of the year (2 for 2002, 3 for 2003, etc.).

The coil nailers were sold at Lowe’s, Home Depot and other home improvement stores nationwide, as well as online through Amazon.com from November 2002 through March 2006 for between $350 and $400.

The CPSC and Health Canada recommend that consumers immediately stop using the recalled coil nailers and contact Hitachi Koki U.S.A., Ltd. for a free repair at www.hitachipowertools.com.