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?
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?