Table saw accidents are more common than the average person would think. According to Table Saw Accident Stories and Statistics, 95% of the accidents are hand, arm, wrist and finger injuries and 5% are eye, face, trunk, and leg with persons between the ages of 15-64. Three important issues stand out when it come to the operation of table saws in the work place and in the home; safety, training and equipment conditions. Mr. John Schmidt was injured on June 7; he seriously injured his hand while pushing a large piece of wood through a table saw in the production shop at work. Who is at fault here, the company or Mr. John Schmidt? Problems to be examined are the functioning of the safety guards presently on the table saw being used in the production shop, how employees are trained to operate this equipment and are the equipment conditions well. I will examine what was said by all the employees and management in the production shop. In this dispute it is examined if the company or the employee is at fault.
Safety is number one when operating table saws in the work place and in the home. If you are not paying close attention to the process of cutting wood, the safety guards may not protect you in certain situations with handling table saws. According to woodworking machinery expert, Les Winter, the circular blades on the table saw move at a speed of 100 miles per hour. This can cause serious hazards to happen when operator is being careless and not focused on the operation of the saw. The smallest distraction or kickback can cause an accident. But even when all safety precautions are taken some accidents are still bond to happen because of human error or just randomly happen when all safety mechanisms are in use. The safety report, with this company, states that the safety guard was poorly designed to protect operators in a number of circumstances. The foreman,