davehenry

What a story of unmet responsibilities! Clearly the jury was persuaded to be sympathetic to Osorio (good plaintiff attorney!), and then was permitted to tap the deepest pockets around, probably without really understanding the traditional risks of table saws and power tools in general.

Regarding unmet responsibilities, Osario certainly wasn't listening very well when use of the table saw was explained: He broke at least three obvious safety rules. The article doesn't say anything about his boss's responsibility, i.e. having put a new guy on a table saw and then apparently not checking later to see what he was doing. Removal of safety devices in a woodworking shop strikes me as a big and obvious no-no that should have been caught.

Finally, there is Ryobi. I think that they got hit for a lot more than they should have been in this case but, as representatives of the woodworking machinery industry, I don't think they should have escaped totally. Why? Because they, and most power tool manufacturers (SawStop an exception!), have done very little to improve the fundamental safety of standard small-shop tools, with the table saw being Exhibit A. This is the 21st Century, yet basic designs of saws, joiners, routers, etc haven't changed for hundreds of years. Tool development has led to improved materials and less expensive products (not bad things!), but little basic change that would make the tools harder, or impossible, to dangerously abuse. Surely, there must be novel, contemporary ways to shape wood that don't leave you vulnerable to accidentally removing digits or limbs! As an avid woodworker of many years I know how to be careful with the machines I've got, but why should I or, especially, the new woodworker have to fear the tools we use? It's time for imagination and true innovation in the woodworking machinery world! Perhaps the Osorio case is a wake-up call.