Products Liability – Industrial accidents

Safety Mask

The plaintiff was employed in a chemical processing plant. His job required him to be exposed to toxic carbon monoxide. Because of this he wore a cannister style gas mask. Shortly after he had put on a new cannister, he was found dead from carbon monoxide inhalation. An x-ray analysis was done on the cannister

Grinding Wheel

An industrial worker using an abrasive wheel at high speed was injured when the wheel, suddenly and without warning, shattered. Plaintiff has made expert analysis of the fragments which revealed internal flow attributable to the manufacturing process.

Bulldozer

The plaintiff was permanently paralyzed from the waist down, after he was run over by a large bulldozer. The driver of the vehicle claimed that he could not see him. Investigation revealed that the cabin was so high that it was impossible to see anyone standing closer than five feet behind, or in front of,

Conveyor Belt

The plaintiff was employed in a factory. His job was to operate a fork-lift and place wood scraps onto a conveyor belt for disposal. While he was engaged in this operation, his left arm became caught between the roller and the underside of the conveyor belt. As a result his arm was severed. There was

Laboratory Hood

This case involves the design adequacy of glass-walled "fume Hoods" used in a laboratory at Boston Hospital. On January 26, 1968, a doctor was performing a perchloric acid digestion of organic materials. An explosion occurred and the glass from the hood shattered. A 24-year-old employee of the college was killed by the flying glass. Suit

Shattered Nail

A workman, constructing a chicken roost, was striking a series of six-inch nails with a hammer. One of them fractured when struck, in such a way that it did not bend first, but fractured at the tip. The broken piece flew off and took out the workman's eye. One interesting aspect of the case was

Chemical Allergy

A man worked in a plant that manufactures detergents. His job was to mix and prepare the chemicals that went into the manufacture of the products. There were no warnings on the bags of chemicals relating to the danger of toxic reactions from exposure to the chemicals. The employee suffered a reaction to trichloroethylene and