Some people, perhaps less handy people, shudder at the thought of using a table saw. It is a sharp, powerful tool that could take a limb if things went extremely wrong. For those who work in construction, a table saw is an everyday tool just as a computer might be a common tool for others.
More than 60,000 injuries caused by table saws occur each year, with many of those incidents likely being the outcome of construction accidents. Surprisingly, there is a safety guard that can make table saws less dangerous to anyone who uses them, but it isn’t added to all saws.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is contemplating putting a requirement on large table saw manufacturers to incorporate the safety function into their tools. There is technology called SawStop that can prevent serious saw injuries like finger or arm amputations. The saw will sense skin contact and stop before cutting further.
Should the requirement be put into effect, big tool manufacturing companies such as Craftsman, Ryobi, Sears and more would have a new safety standard to meet when making and selling their tools. But that might just be one step toward better protecting construction workers from workplace injuries. If construction sites and businesses weren’t to require the use of the safer saws, workers would likely continue to sustain injuries. That isn’t good for the workplace injury victims or their employers.
Our Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys help workers who have been injured in construction accidents fight for the damages and compensation that they deserve.
Source: The Legal Examiner, “Table Saw Injuries and Amputations,” Shezad Malik, MD, JD, Nov. 9, 2012