You have got to be kidding, NDR

Andrew Holley

Well-known member
Man wins $1.5m in first of its kind saw case.

A Boston jury has awarded $1.5 million to a Malden man who injured his fingers on a saw while installing oak wood flooring several years ago in a first of its kind case that claimed the standard design of American table saws is defective.
Carlos Osorio accused One World Technologies Inc., maker of Ryobi saws, of negligence for failing to include a flesh detection technology that would prevent most serious injuries, according to a copy of the complaint filed in 2006 in US District Court in Boston.

After five surgeries and years of rehabilitation, two of Osorio’s fingers are permanently disfigured and unusable, and he has suffered numbness and loss of feeling in three other fingers.

“Hopefully, this means the industry is finally going to recognize that catastrophic injuries could be averted and they need to make this technology standard so people don’t have these senseless injuries,’’ said Richard J. Sullivan, one of the lawyers representing Osorio.

One World Technologies said it had been advised of the verdict.

“We are evaluating the results with our lawyers, and evaluating how to proceed,’’ said Jason Swanson, a spokesman for One World Technologies.

“Notwithstanding the outcome of this trial and any possible appeal, we remain confident that the saw which was the subject of this lawsuit was well-designed and manufactured with all due consideration for the needs and safety of the consumer.’’

Osorio’s case is one of more than 50 lawsuits pending throughout the United States against the major table saw manufacturers for failure to adopt the technology, which would stop a power saw blade almost instantly upon contact with human flesh.

During Osorio’s trial, an expert witness for the defense acknowledged that if the saw had the flesh detection technology, it would have created a 1/8-inch deep cut on one finger, Osorio’s lawyers said. Instead, Osorio suffered near-amputation of one finger and severe lacerations on four other fingers.

Now don't get me wrong, I feel for Carlos, while I haven't cut myself on the table saw, I did split my middle finger open from the the tip to the first joint on the bandsaw and it's numb most of the time and I have limited feeling.

But $1,500,000?

According to Fine Woodworking, they were seeking $250,000 in damages, and the jury felt the saw was "defectively designed" and the defects were a cause of Osorio's accident, so they increased the amount. Furthermore, Carlos was only 35% responsible for his injuries and One World (owner of Ryobi) was 65% liable, why?

Who was operating the saw? Who didn't have a blade guard or splitter on the saw? Who was operating the saw without a rip fence? Who never read the directions that came with the saw? (Now to be fair, Carlos was an employee of a flooring company when the accident happened, but he was "cautioned about the dangers of the saw"). Come on, the saw had a 10" blade spinning around 3,600 RPM anyone can look at it and know it's dangerous.

Now every table saw out there will have have a Saw Stop installed on them at an additional cost to the consumer, and people will be so much more protected (from themselves). But who is going to protect us from stupid juries?

Now where is my cup of hot coffee from McDonalds?
 
. But who is going to protect us from stupid juries?

Stupid people will always find something to injure themself on...and the damn laywers will smell the blood and come running! This is crazy!
 
That is crazy. How could the saw manufacturer possibly be responsible for someone hurting themselves. I to almost lost a finger to a saw. Never once did I consider suing someone else because I was stupid and had my hand too close to the blade. I had a worm drive bind up and kick back with the blade almost removing half my left thumb. It is permanently disfigured and will never be 100%. But it was 100% my fault not the saw manufacturer. I don't know the details of how this guy cut himself but I'd be willing to bet it was because of his own negligence or misuse of the tool. The saw stop is a great invention. Now someone needs to come up with a stupid stop. Something to encase these people so they can't hurt themselves and sue someone else resulting in the rest of us paying more money for things.
 
Hey Andrew,

"[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Now where is my cup of hot coffee from McDonalds?"

That was your last sentence------correct?

Well, now you will know the rest of the story. Now where is my cup of hot coffee from McDonald's, is just down the road a piece from where Bev and I live. The lawyer who won that case bought a ranch with his share of the purse.
Al
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This is why insurance rates are so high for any type of woodworking business etc.... My Dad lost 3 fingers to a 3/4 in dado blade. Not pretty. You know what? He healed up and went back to work! Things happen and to level the blame at someone else is silly.

I do think SAW STOP technology is great, but as far as I know it is under patent for only SAW STOP brand saws.

If the technology is open for sale etc it would make a great option to have on other saw brand's.
 
I had heard that the guy that came up with that technology tried to sell it to the other manufacturers first. They didnt want to buy it, so he decided to manufacture his own.......Which of course makes it unavailable to the others now.

The lady with the coffee, well my understanding is that the coffee was way beyond hot.Evidently boiling or close. She received extensive 2nd and third degree burns. I could take coffee and pour it straight out of my coffee maker at home and in to my lap and receive only a first degree burn.... That wasnt a simple burn, and McDonalds was stupid for serving it that hot.

I do believe people need to take resposibility for their own actions, but when negligence is involved, someone does need to pay.Working in an ER for years, I have a hundred stories of people just trying to get rich and blamong others for their own stupidity. I also have a hundred more of good people getting absolutely screwed by our system.My own brother had his neck broken at work, and his right shoulder torn out of socket when a 400 pound box fell 7 feet on him. Hasnt been able to work since.Hasnt received one dime from that company either. Long story, so i wont explain any more. But it was not his fault in the slightest,
 
Mike, to add to what you wrote, my research indicates that the lady burned by the McDonald's coffee only asked for reasonable medical expenses from them. When they essentially told her to pound salt is when she lawyered up. The JURY awarded her massive punitive damages to let McDonald's know they should have been more passionate at the beginning.

That being said, I cut the end my right index finger off behnd the fingernail in a table saw 20+ years ago as a result of my own negligence; the manufacturer of the saw was in no way shape or form responsible for me removing the guard and making cuts without a push stick. I remember my dad's comment at the emergency room when he asked how it happened, and I quote: "You DUMBASS!!!" Filing lawsuit against the company was suggested by lots of people I knew, but I never considered it. It was my fault, plain and simple.
 
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