Personal Injury Lawyers > Personal Injury Blog > Amputation Injuries > SawStop Could Prevent Thousands of Power Saw Injuries Every Year

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SawStop Could Prevent Thousands of Power Saw Injuries Every Year

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, every year more than 3,000 people are injured in table saw accidents. These accidents leave people with amputated fingers and limbs. Yet, for years now manufacturers have been aware of a safety device that if installed on a power saw, can prevent the possibility of amputations. The trouble however, has been in getting companies to include these features as part of their saws.

According to NPR.org, an entrepreneur Steve Gass has invented a safety device that can prevent such power saw injuries. The device is called SawStop, and has been found to dramatically minimize the possibility of such injuries. A typical table saw has a blade which spins at high speeds. If your finger comes in the way of the blade, you could lose your finger before you even begin to react. Most people who are injured in such accidents are simply unable to move their hand away from the blade in time.

SawStop however comes with an emergency brake mechanism, that senses when a finger is in its path. When the blade senses that it is about to come into contact with a finger, it immediately applies the brakes, bringing the blade to stop at a speed of 3/1000^th of a second. A person using a saw with the feature, would feel just a minor nick. Without the SawStop device in the power saw, the blade would simply slice through the person’s finger or even more than one finger, before the person even has time to realize it.

Steve Gass developed the technology about ten years ago. Since then, he has tried to persuade the big power tool manufacturers to incorporate the safety feature in their power saws. The response from most of the manufacturers has been familiar- they’re not sure they want a safety aid installed because safety doesn’t sell. It is a ridiculous assumption, and it seems to be driven more by cost-saving motives than anything else. The feature would add about $100 to the cost of each power saw. According to Gass, none of the major automakers including Black & Decker, have adopted this kind of system. This is in spite of the fact that Gass has recorded at least 700 injuries that have been prevented from using the SawStop feature.

According to the power tool industry, it has been working at adding safety measures to tools that will prevent such injuries. One of these features includes a glove-like feature that can be fitted over the saw blade to protect the person’s finger or hand from the blade.

However, there is reason to hope that the situation could soon change. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairperson Inez Tenenbaum has shown an interest in SawStop, and has even seen a demonstration of the tool.  California product liability lawyers don’t expect miracles overnight, but there is reason to hope that maybe under the CPCS’s new leadership, there will be more attention to the prevention of table saw-related injuries.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of personal injuries. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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