Are Saw Makers In Trouble After Court Ruling?

A man from Malden, MA was recently awarded $1.5 million after a jury found that injuries to his fingers were the result of negligence by One World Technologies Inc., maker of Ryobi saws. The lawyers for Carlos Osorio blamed the lack of flesh detecting technology, the same technology used in Saw Stop saws, for the injuries he sustained while using a Ryobi saw to install oak wood flooring.

The ruling of the case is simply unbelievable, and puts all saw makers in a hard place. Flesh detecting tech. in power tools is still very new, and this case was filed back in 2006 when it was practically unheard of. Why do people use Ryobi tools to begin with? Simple, because they are cheap. Flesh detecting technology, in conjunction with a braking system is not cheap. The cheapest Saw Stop saw is still around $1500. The fact that the man was using a Ryobi saw shows that he likely would have not opted to pay the added price had it been available at the time. Ryobi needed better lawyers.

Are saw manufacturers now going to have to license the technology from Saw Stop, as I am sure Saw Stop has a pretty good set of patents protecting their company. If they do have to license from Saw Stop, and add all the safety features, we will be looking at a huge price increase. Tables saws, miter saws, circular saws, jig saws, scroll saws, band saws, radial arm saws; where will it stop?

via – Boston.com