Worker Loses Three Fingers to Textile Machine
By Mass. Lawyers Weekly Staff
Used equipment not inspected by sellers; $688,000 settlement
The plaintiff, a 23-year-old machine operator, suffered an amputation injury to three fingers on his left hand while working on a garnett, or textile machine.
The machine had been sold to the plaintiff’s employer by the defendants, the prior owner and two brokers in the used industrial machinery market. The manufacturer of the machine was defunct.
The defendants claimed that the plaintiff violated the employer’s “lockout/tag-out” procedures and that he was negligent in attempting to clean a doffer, or moving roller, while the machine was running. They alleged that the plaintiff had been instructed by co-employees not to do so without first shutting off the machine.
The defendants also claimed that the absence of required safety guards or other safety devices represented negligence on the part of the employer and that they had no notice of any such problems, as they had no reasonable opportunity to observe any such defect prior to sale.
They also maintained that the metal fence sections used to assure proper lockout procedures were shipped with the machine when sold, but were negligently installed by the employer.
The plaintiff claimed that the defendants were liable for placing a dangerous 1940s-era industrial machine in the stream of commerce. He developed evidence to establish that the prior owner was aware at the time of sale that the doffer was missing a guard that could have prevented the accident. The evidence did not support co-employees’ testimony that the plaintiff was trained not to enter the restricted area where the accident occurred.
The defendant sellers’ depositions established that they made no effort to examine the safety of the used machine prior to its sale.
The plaintiff’s safety expert opined that the accident could have been prevented if the guard had been installed on the machine.Prior to expert witness depositions, the parties reached a settlement at mediation.
Action: Products liability
Injuries alleged: Amputation of three fingers
Case name: Withheld
Court/case no.: Withheld
Jury and/or judge: N/A (mediated)
Amount: $688,000
Date: April 2011
Attorney: Stephen J. Chiasson, Sheff Law Offices, Boston (for the plaintiff)
