It's like people can "drive" a tractor but not handle the situation when something goes wrong.
I hang onto a saw like my life depends on it. I don't wear protective gear and have never had an injury. If you don't lose control of your saw and don't touch the moving chain, how can you get hurt? Also, never, ever use a saw on a ladder or when footing is unsure.
It's also like watching newbies fire various weapons on youtube. I can't believe anyone would drop a firearm. These must be the same people using saws that are getting injured.
No one plans or intends to have an accident with a chainsaw. I wear protective gear: full wrap chaps or chainsaw protective pants, and a helmet with hearing and eye protection. A few years ago, I added Haix chainsaw protective boots - our county forester almost lost his foot in a chainsaw accident. I figured if it can happen to him, it can happen to me. I've never had an injury, but that doesn;t mean it won't happen. I fell a fair number of trees each year for my own use (mostly firewood, the occasional sawlog for a special project), and helping out others clearing trails, cleaning up storm blow-down, and harvesting firewood for our local firewood donation program.
There is a reason that logging is one of the most dangerous professions in the US. (As a reflection of that, Workers Comp Insurance rates for loggers doing hand cutting in Vermont can run to 100% of their wages: so for every dollar an employer pays a logger, he's paying another dollar into Workers Comp insurance.)
I decided early on in my chainsaw usage that I wanted to be around to see my kids grow up and have full use of all my limbs while doing so. So I wear the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and I realized there is more to felling a tree safely than what is on the little book that comes with your chainsaw (or what your more experienced neighbor is likely to tell you), so I enrolled in some chainsaw safety & efficiency training (
Game Of Logging). Yeah, sometimes it's a pain, and it can be hot to wear that stuff in the summer, but it beats a trip to the Emergency Room.