Carpenter Partially Amputates His Thumb While Operating a Chop Saw
WRSMH attorney Kenneth J. Halperin obtained a $355,000 recovery for a carpenter who partially amputated his thumb while cutting a piece of aluminum at a worksite. The evidence in this case revealed that the chop saw our client was using was in excellent working condition and had the legally required guards. However, when our client, a carpenter with approximately 25 year's experience, went to cut a short piece of aluminum, his thumb was pulled into the blade. Defendant's argued that no provisions of the New York State Labor Law applied to the case because the saw was not defective or broken. They also argued that our client should have been using a clamp to hold the piece of aluminum in place and that that would have prevented the accident. Our client's foreman also testified that all safety devices were present at the site. At the time of the settlement defendants were preparing a motion to dismiss the case.
However, Ken argued that the plaintiff was never provided with the clamps and that the general contractor should have ensured that they were available and in use. During the depositions of the defendants, the firm was able to discover that despite all the measures taken by the defendants to ensure worker safety, because they omitted this singular piece of safety equipment, our client was injured.