An unusual cranial injury caused by an industrial nail-gun

An unusual case of an industrial nail-gun injury is presented. A 36-year-old man was struck in the back of his neck by a nail, which was fired from a high velocity Ramset nail-gun. The nail passed through the foramen magnum to lodge in front of the brainstem. In spite of the close proximity of the nail's trajectory to the upper cervical spinal cord and the brain stem, no major neurological damage resulted. The nail was removed successfully the following day. This case illustrates the potential for serious injury from nail-guns.