My views on the article regarding Tablesaw Injury Leads to $1.5 million jury award
I live in the UK and have worked as a carpenter/joiner for 42 years, having done a 5 year apprenticeship starting when I was 15 years old.
TV programs in the USA always quote health and safety when using a tablesaw, and state that the guard has been left off so that the viewer can see what is happening. This is usually followed showing a tablesaw being used with an open blade without the guard on. We are told this is done for presentation purposes on photos and videos alike.
Some examples of additions to the tablesaw in order to try to prevent injuries include the riving knife (splitter) at the back of a tablesaw blade being introduced because operatives lost their fingers when backing off at the back of the tablesaw. At the end of the tablesaw there should be an extension at the back to avoid the operative leaning forward over the tablesaw blade to pull out the timber at the back of the tablesaw after it has gone through as well as to prevent the timber tipping off the edge.
So I’m afraid that the tenoning jigs that are sometimes shown on TV programs would definitely be outlawed in the UK, as they are impossible to guard because you have to remove the crown guard in order to use them.
Health & Safety regulations in the UK dictate that the safety guard should always be used on a tablesaws..
In theUK an operative in the workplace using a tablesaw without a guard on would not receive the ££’s equivalent of the $1.5 million claim after sustaining an injury when they clearly did not comply with basic Health & Safety guidelines. It gives a green light to anyone else who sustains such an injury because that case can then be quoted in the courts in the USA.
In the UK if someone sustained an injury in such a situation I would expect the Health & Safety Executive to point out that the industrial operative would have been held responsible for not using the tablesaw guard. Whatever company the person was employed by would also be inspected to determine why the employee was allowed to use the tablesaw without a guard on and, if it was found they (and the operative) were negligent, they would not only be subject to a fine if such negligence was proved, but a possible custodial sentence could also be given.
I have been reading the Fine Woodworking Magazine for several years and this is the first time I have been moved to write in response to an article. I watch The New Yankee Workshop regularly and have done so for several years. I would like to point out that it is always stressed that a guard should be used but sometimes watch in horror when I see Norm leaning over the blade. I am sure I am not the only one to feel this way and thought I would put my views down for others to consider.
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Replies
You make some good points
It's always interesting to me to hear how things are done elsewhere, thanks for the UK viewpoint.
My thoughts run similar to yours - the lawsuit should have been against the supervisor or construction company who provided the saw with the safety devices removed / disabled. Better yet, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Admin) could have stepped in and fined the company prior to it even getting to the lawsuit stage.
On an interesting corollary, as I understand the Sawstop, the safety device can be disabled, as there were some early complaints about it triggering on green or wet lumber. Now that Mr Sawstop has testified that his device would have saved the user's fingers, I wonder what his defense is going to be whenever the first accident occurs with the mechanism disabled?
As you say, the green light has been lit...
The employer CAN NOT be sued in the US because of worker's compensation laws. He may have received benefits under workers' comp, but that would not have even been allowed to be mentioned in the law suit against the saw manufacturer.
But the difference between Europe and UK is the basic approach: here it is the Tort System that ensures that dangers are eliminated, in Europe where it is usually, I believe, more difficult to collect damages in such suits, the government regulatory system takes a much more active role in making safety rules. The US is very reluctant to give government power. Sometimes for good sometimes for ill. I wonder just how many are injured by the "dangerous" tenon jigs. or for that matter,by using dado blades with are outlawed or essentially outlawed, in Europe.
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