Saw and Cutting Blade Accidents

Saw or cutting blades accident injuries are unfortunately among the most frequent injuries suffered by New York construction workers. Such accidents result mostly in cuts and lacerations to the hands and fingers but also sometimes to the toes or feet. Cutting blade injuries can be so severe (i.e. loss of an extremity) that they may prevent a construction worker to ever work again.

Power driven saws are utilized to cut through wood, metal, concrete and various other materials. Because they are essential tools on construction sites they are also often the cause of severe injuries or death. Cutting accidents occur due to a variety of reasons, including improper saw maintenance, improper usage, or by the use of damaged or defective saw blades.

One of the most common reasons for a cutting accident on a construction site is the failure to appropriately maintain guards on the saw. As a result of the significant danger that unguarded power saws creates, the New York State Department of Labor has a specific Industrial Code section that provides requirements for the use of power driven saws at construction sites. Industrial Code 23-1.12(c) states that “[e]very portable, power-driven, hand-operated saw which is not provided with a saw table, except chain saws and circular brush saws, shall be equipped with a fixed guard above the base plate which will completely protect the operator from contact with the saw blade when the saw is operating and with a movable self-adjusting guard below the base plate which will completely cover the saw blade to the depth of the teeth when such blade is removed from the cut.”

Despite the strict guidelines set by the Industrial Code, each year construction workers are injured by power driven saws. Fault may lay with the owner of the power saw, the operator, the owner of the construction site, the general contractor, subcontractors or others. Determining who is at fault for a cutting accident requires a thorough understanding of the various laws of New York and New Jersey, in particularly the Labor Law of New York §240(1), §241(6) and §200. The New York Saw Accident Attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf have vast knowledge in these areas of law. In fact, the firm’s attorneys have been asked to lecture time and time again to other attorneys, judges and other legal professionals on the various construction laws.

In order to successful litigate a cutting accident, it is critical that a thorough investigation of the incident be performed. All documentation of the incident, such as reports by the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA), incident reports, workers’ compensation reports and police reports must be obtained. In addition, all information related to the saw involved in the cutting accident must be acquired, including the model and make of the saw, the type of blade that was installed in the saw at the time of the incident, and the specific type of guards on the saw, if any. The NY Cutting Blade Accident Lawyers at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf perform their own independent investigation of their client’s cutting accident to ensure that all necessary information is obtained.

If you or a loved one has been severely injured or killed as a result of a saw or cutting blade accident on a New York construction site, it is essential to speak with an attorney who has a firm grasp of the various construction and labor laws. The construction accident attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf have been litigating saw and cutting blades accidents in New York City for over 100 years. Please contact us today.