Cash-strapped homeowners are trying to cut
costs by replacing the kitchen floor or fixing a pipe themselves rather
than hiring a contractor. But some are ending up with a trip to the
emergency room instead.
Nick Jouriles, president of the American College
of Emergency Physicians, says he has seen an increase in injuries from
do-it-yourself projects in the past year, and he says it's probably the
result of homeowners trying to save money in a struggling economy.
A member poll by Angie's List, a website
featuring user reviews of contractors, found that 83% of respondents
choose to do projects themselves so they can save money. But often the
savings can be lost when a homeowner is forced to hire someone to redo
the job or ends up in the emergency room.
Members of the website have reported injuries
ranging from being hit in the eye by a falling hammer to slicing off
half a thumb with a carpet cutter.
One Angie's List member, Matt Taylor, reported
that a surgeon had to use pliers to pull a nail out of his arm after he
accidentally shot himself with a nail gun while framing a pocket door.
No organization tracks do-it-yourself injuries, but anecdotes are rolling in:
• Jouriles, an Akron-based emergency physician,
says he saw a patient just last week who fell off a ladder while fixing
his roof. The patient told him he should have hired someone to do the
job, but he was trying to cut costs.
• Arlo Weltge, an emergency room physician in
Houston and spokesman for the emergency-physicians organization, says
he sees injured do-it-yourselfers in the emergency room "all the time."
He says he has even seen someone die from a brain injury after falling
off a ladder while cleaning the gutter.
"A lot of these things are well-intentioned and not necessarily difficult, but unfortunately we see a lot of these," he says.
• Jennifer Hussey, an Angie's List member based
in San Antonio, was almost blinded while trying to fix something on
Mother's Day weekend. She was hit in the eye when the hammer she was
using to remove molding fell from a 10-foot ladder.
Todd Taylor, a physician working for Microsoft
in Tennessee, opted to make some roof repairs a few years ago. The
former emergency room doctor ended up with two broken legs and had to
use a wheelchair for two months after falling from a ladder.
Jacqueline Agnew, director of the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's education research
center, says homeowners should consider the risks before starting a
project.
"There's no cost saving that's going to make it worth risking a serious disability," she says.
Paul Zuch, president-elect of the National
Association for the Remodeling Industry, says hiring a contractor can
be a safer bet because it gives homeowners someone to blame if
something goes wrong.
"They kind of shift the onus back to themselves when they take on these projects," he says.