The case of a Hartford, Connecticut man brings up an interesting ethical dilemma at the heart of defective product litigation. The man, a 51-year-old carpenter with 20 years of experience was injured in early 2003 in a nail gun accident. The man was working on the rafters of a church when a nail rebounded off a subsurface layer of metal. The 3 1/2 –inch nail went through his cheek and into his brain. Now the man is partially paralyzed and has seizures as a result of his catastrophic brain injury. He will never be able to work or drive again, and he needs constant supervision. He sued the toolmaker Stanley Works and the retailer Home Depot, for their part in the accident.
In response, the toolmaker and retailer said that the nail gun meets all industry standards, is used countless times each day, and that it has adequate warnings to prevent just such an accident. Therefore, they charge that the carpenter is wholly responsible for the accident.
Really, it seems that in this case neither party is at fault. The man had sufficient experience with the tool that he can reasonably be expected to have been using it in a manner consistent with best safety practices. The toolmaker made a product that was as safe as possible given its effective design parameters.
Who, then, should pay? It seems unreasonable to expect the man to bear the full penalty for the accident, since it was, after all, an accident. No matter what the toolmaker and retailer say, they share a part in this accident. They made the tool that carries with it some inherent risk. Therefore, it seems that injuries as a result of the tool are inherent in their business, and, ideally, they should accept it and voluntarily offer compensation for those injured by their tools.
Since they do not volunteer to pay their fair share of responsibility, the only way for injured workers to receive compensation is through litigation. In this case, a Connecticut jury saw the shared responsibility, and parceled out responsibility. The toolmaker and retailer were ordered to pay $3.4 million to cover their portion of responsibility. The man has already paid out part of his share in blood, flesh, and bone, and he will pay the rest through his declining years as his injuries worsen and he shrinks into the hollow shell of a man.
If you have been injured in an accident that is partly your fault, you know what your cost is in pain, in grief, and in a diminished life, but it is important that others pay their share of what happened to you. If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of a defective product in the Phoenix, Arizona area, contact the product liability lawyers at Snyder & Wenner, P.C. You don’t have to bear the burden alone any more.
