jsteiger said:
There is an interesting situation brewing here in the States with an apparatus called SawStop. The technology is brilliant and has been out for several years now. If you have never heard of it, check out the videos here.
http://www.sawstop.com/howitworks/videos.php The inventor's idea was to have every saw manufacturer in the world use SawStop. None did. So, they started marketing their own line of table saws. Pretty damn good saws I must say. I replaced an old Delta Unisaw with a Sawstop model a few years ago. The insurance guys love it.
Anyhow, I just read an article about a man who severely damaged all of the fingers on his hand using a Ryobi job-site table saw. The courts found Ryobi at fault since the SawStop technology has been available and they chose not to incorporate it into their table saws. The guy got like 1.5 million or something crazy. The article said there are approximately 60 other cases like this making their way thru the courts now.
This is very interesting, indeed, and a complex issue. Here's a link to an article in "Fine Woodworking"
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/26939/more-details-on-the-carlos-osorio-tablesaw-lawsuit
an excerpt: "In April 2004, Carlos Osorio took a job as a flooring installer for PT Hardwood Floor Service in Medford, Mass. According to the defendant’s trial brief, Osorio had never used a tablesaw before, so his boss showed him how to use the tool and cautioned him about the dangers. A couple of weeks later while installing an oak floor, Osorio was ripping a 21/4-in.-wide floorboard on a Ryobi BTS 15 benchtop tablesaw. The blade guard and splitter were removed and he was making the cut without a rip fence."
Freehanding with no fence.
"When he started cutting, he felt chattering and vibration, so he shut off the machine, removed the stock, and cleared away dust and other pieces of flooring from the saw table. Thinking he had solved the problem, he started cutting again, but his difficulties continued, so he pushed the board even harder. His left hand slipped into the spinning blade, nearly removing his pinky finger and severely cutting two other fingers and his thumb. Ultimately, Osorio would undergo five surgeries and 95 occupational therapy visits to treat his injured hand."
The verdict:
"Osorio's case went to trial in February of this year and was decided about four weeks later. A jury concluded that Osorio was 35% responsible for his injuries and One World was 65% liable. They awarded Osorio $1.5 million in damages even though he was only seeking $250,000. The verdict form indicated that the jury felt the saw was "defectively designed" and the defects were a cause of Osorio's accident."
I've worked in the trades all my life and have seen this stuff a bunch of times --the clown that showed him how to use the saw probably took the fence off, too.
I mangled 2 fingers on a radial-arm saw 10 years ago that make playing guitar difficult, but it never occurred to me to sue anyone. I made a stupid cutting decision, and paid a steep price. Carpentry is a -very- dangerous occupation.
I go back to the days when the "macho" attitude was fostered concerning safety equipment, and "OSHA" was ridiculed.
This attitude was encouraged by management, who didn't want to spend the money for safety devices, so they got everyone to laugh at them.
In the 80's I was usually the only one on a jobsite wearing a dust mask. In those days all the painters were alcoholics to counteract the fumes (especially lacquer) but if you showed up with a respirator they laughed --most of them aren't laughing now.
I digress,
My initial reaction was to scoff at this verdict, but am slowly turning around. The tech to fix table saws is there. It should be used.
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