May 22, 2012
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), table saws are commonly associated with injuries. The agency estimates that approximately 67,000 people are injured each year by tabletop saws, causing 4,000 amputations per year.
In an effort to make these products safer, the agency unanimously decided last fall to set performance requirements that would improve the safety of these products, such as “StopSaw” technology. This is a device that cuts power to the tool the moment the blade comes in contact with flesh.
Lawsuits have been filed in the past saying table saw manufacturers were negligent in their design of the product for excluding this technology, but the lawsuits failed. The courts decided in the case of Osorio v. One World Technologies, et al that since no other manufacturers had adopted use of safety technology in their product’s designs, the maker of the saw in question was not negligent for having not used it on their products.
This forced the CPSC into their decision to require the new technology on new models of table saws. A draft of the new regulations from the agency is expected later this year.
Table saw injuries are capable of changing a victim’s life permanently. That is why the Personal Injury Attorneys with Ferrer Poirot Feller Daniel suggest receiving training and education on how to use a table saw properly and safely before cutting anything.