I'm wondering why he wasn't covered by workers' comp.

To provide my own theory to answer my own question, he probably wasn't wearing a hardhat.

A hardhat wouldn't have helped out. The nail shot into his mouth and went through the roof of it into his brain. I think he originally went to the doctor because of a toothache.

Check out the x-ray.

Then I'm still confused. Unless he wasn't at work when it happened, I haven't read where or when the accident happened. Or I suppose his employer might not be covered. My employer is required to provide coverage under state law (I think) but I guess it varies.

Worker's comp varies widely (wildly, even) by state. Some states have caps on how much you can recieve, other's don't. Some only cover a percentage of medical bills, others cover full medical costs, some have a time limit on how long benefits can be recieved, and forumlas for how benefits are calculated vary tremendously. Kentucky (where my dad works) for instance has pretty crappy workman's comp. Massachusetts (where he was working at the time he ran into a little problem) has a very generous worker's comp system. Luckily, my dad got to choose which state would provide his benefits. Good thing, or else I'm sure we'd be bankrupt.

Anyway, I have no idea why the guy isn't getting worker's comp. Could be that the worker's comp in Ohio is just really, really shitty. I don't know.