Fowler v. Rockwell

Facts: Plaintiff, a 63 year old retired engineer, lost four fingers on his left hand while reaching for the off switch on his Rockwell home table saw, during a remodel project. Plaintiff reached from the rear of the saw toward the switch located below the table on the left side. The rear “cover” of the saw was not in place, and plaintiff inadvertently reached into the open space and contacted the rotating saw blade. All four fingers of the left hand were traumatically amputated . The index finger was surgically reimplanted in place of the middle finger, and the little finger was also reimplanted during emergency surgery at County-USC Medical Center.

Contentions: Plaintiff clamed that the saw, designed and manufactured by the Delta division of Rockwell International, was defective in design in that the rear cover was not made a permanent part of the saw cabinet or more securely affixed to the cabinet. It was held in place by two tabs which allowed the cover to be easily removed from the table saw. Plaintiff contended that this design failed to provide adequate below-table guarding as required by various safety standards, including the General Industry Safety Orders of the State of California.

Opposing Counsel: Rockwell was represented by Thomas Pilchowski of Millard, Stack & Stevens, Los Angeles.

Plaintiff’s Technical Experts: Included Paul Arthur, Ph.D. – Mechanical Engineering; and Gordon Robinson – Industrial and Human Factors Engineering.

Demand, Offer and Verdict: Plaintiff demanded $200,000; Rockwell offered $10,000; Verdict $2 Million Gross