Saw Accidents
We are New York Construction Accident Lawyers that have extensive experience in saw accident cases. We regularly litigate cases involving saw accidents both on and off construction sites. Our Lawyers regularly litigate cases involving construction and saw accidents in the New York metropolitan area including Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester, Rockland and Long Island.
On New York construction sites, there are extensive protections for workers using saws. Some of the most common injuries involve defective saws. It does not matter who provided the saw, the owner and general contractor are responsible to make sure the saw which a worker is provided is in good condition. For every portable, power-driven hand-operated saw which is not provided with a saw table, (except chain saws and circular brush saws), must have a fixed guard above the base plate which will completely protect the operator from contact with the saw blade when the saw is operating and with a movable self adjusting guard below the base plate which will completely cover the saw blade to the depth of the teeth when such a saw blade is removed from the cut. Often saws are not properly maintained and should be air blown free of materials and wood pieces at the end of each work day. If this is not done, it can cause the guard to jam. This violates the regulations because a defective guard, which does not automatically shut is not sufficient to protect the worker. In other words, if a worker is cut by the teeth, ordinarily the guard did not work properly. Additionally, each saw should have an automatic shut off (dead man's switch) when the trigger is not being pressed, so that in case the saw it dropped the blade will not continue to spin. Also the regulations require table saws to have spreaders that prevent kick back. The regulations are too numerous to mention and if you were injured in a saw accident, call us to discuss the facts of your case.
Also in New York, defective design and manufacture of a saw will make whoever sells and manufactures a saw liable for products liability. Our attorneys have litigated products liability cases against major manufaturers and retailers.