A guarding defect on industrial machinery — known to the manufacturer for years — caused an amputation when an operator performed a routine step exactly as trained.
An operator was performing a routine task on industrial machinery when an unguarded moving component contacted the operator's hand. The incident occurred during a standard production cycle within the scope of the operator's training.
The machine's original safety design included guarding that had been removed in field service for ease of cleaning. The manufacturer's own service bulletins acknowledged the cleaning-access conflict but provided no engineering remedy. Industry-standard testimony established available alternative designs.
The plaintiff lost three fingers on the dominant hand, requiring multiple reconstructive surgeries, prosthetic fitting, and vocational retraining.
A jury returned a $12.4M verdict against the equipment manufacturer.
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