Worker injured using table saw: Negligent removal of warning label: Partial hand amputation: Settlements

Law Reporter, May 1999

Maloney v. Whirlwind, Inc., Wis., Brown County Cir. Ct., No. 95-CV-535, Aug. 17, 1998.

Maloney, 20, was using an industrial table saw at a pallet shop. When the board he was cutting suddenly stopped moving, his right hand slid across the icy top of the board and under the saw guard. He lost his balance and his foot depressed the saw's pedal, activating the saw and severing a large portion of his hand. Maloney underwent a total of 14 surgeries to reattach his hand but eventually lost his thumb. He was later diagnosed as having posttraumatic stress disorder, which prevents him from returning to work at the pallet shop. His medical expenses of over $300,000 were paid by workers' comp. A wood stacker who had earned about $6,300 annually, he is currently enrolled in a technical school.

Maloney sued the saw's previous owner, alleging it had removed a label warning that the guard clamp should be adjusted to within a quarter inch of the workpiece. Plaintiff claimed the distance from the workpiece to the saw had been six inches at the time of the accident, allowing his hand to slide underneath the guard.

Plaintiff also claimed that defendant had removed the guard's height adjustment knob.

Suit against the saw manufacturer and distributor alleged that the saw was unreasonably dangerous in that it lacked double palm buttons, which would have prevented the saw from operating when one hand was underneath the saw's guard.

Defendants argued plaintiff's improper balance had caused the accident. Defendants also contended plaintiff had cut off his hand on purpose. Plaintiff countered that a person who self-inflicts an injury never suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder.

Before trial, plaintiff settled with the manufacturer and distributor for $40,000. The distributor and its insurer contributed $30,000, and the manufacturer, the remainder. During the second week of trial, plaintiff settled with the previous owner and its insurer for $1.1 million.

Plaintiff's experts were Ross K Lynch, vocational psychology, Madison, Wis., and Hani S. Matloub, hand surgery, Brad K Grunert, psychology, and Larry Burck, engineering, all of Milwaukee, Wis.

Defendants' experts were James Sprague, engineering, Detroit, Mich., and N. Timothy Lynch, psychology, Milwaukee, Wis.

Plaintiff's Counsel:

*Willard P. Techmeier, Milwaukee, Wis.

*David J. McCormick, Milwaukee, Wis.