Defective power tool injury NJ

New Jersey Defective Power Tool Lawyers

Tough representation when manufacturers put their profit ahead of your safety

Defective power tools and machinery are often identified as the cause of serious injuries or death. The victims include workers such as construction workers who regularly use these tools, or private consumers who use power tools for home repair jobs. Manufacturers who sell tools have a duty to ensure their products are safe for their intended use. Employers have a duty to follow industry standards on the safe use of electronic products including power tools.

At Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP, our personal injury lawyers file product liability, negligence, and breach of warranty claims when power tools cause electric shock, burns, and fatalities. We work with product safety experts who are skilled at analyzing whether a power tool that harmed you, or killed a loved one, was defective when it was used. Our New Jersey defective power tool lawyers also review whether the power tool was subject to a product safety recall. Our lawyers demand compensation for all your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Our product liability results include:

  • $15,000,000 Verdict for Defective Vehicle/Motor Vehicle Accident
  • $10,600,000 Award for Woman Injured in Ford Explorer Rollover
  • $2,500,000 Confidential Settlement for Plaintiff on a Products Liability Claim
  • $1,400,000 Recovery for Foot/Ankle Burns Suffered in a Pedicure Spa Chair Leading to Leg Amputation
  • $750,000 Settlement for RDS Injury Sustained from Reclined Airline Seat

How can we help?

How can you be injured by a power tool?

Power tools can cause injuries in different ways. Examples include:

  • Physical contact with the blades or other tool parts can cause lacerations or amputations
  • Malfunctions can cause fires and cause electric currents to run through your body
  • The debris and shavings can cause vision damage
  • The noise can cause hearing loss
  • Tools that drop can cause broken bones

Workers who use power tools regularly may suffer repetitive stress injuries, back injuries, neck injuries, and shoulder injuries.

What are the different types of power tool defects?

Examples of power tool defects that have injured users include:

  • Cracked wheel on grinders, cutters, polishers, and buffers
  • Damaged power cords
  • Loose attachments on air compression-powered pneumatic tools
  • Malfunctioning safety switches
  • Missing fluid in hydraulic power tools
  • Missing safety guards
  • Power jacks not lubricated

According to Tool Critic, power tools that have been recalled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) include portable table saws, gas-powered chain saws, circular saws, portable gasoline generators, grinders, sanders, cordless drills, rotary tools, pneumatic nailers, roofing nailers, and electric blowers.

Are any brands subject to recalls?

Two recent large power tool recalls include “DeWALT’s 12-inch Sliding Compound Miter Saws which sold more than 1.4 million units across the US and Canada. The other involves Makita’s cordless hedge trimmers, which sold only about 2,600 units in the US.” Both tools have a part that is supposed to protect the user – but can lead to laceration injuries. Already, DeWALT has received 571 malfunction reports, including nine injuries.

You can find an updated list of dangerous and recalled power tools on the CPSC’s website by searching under Recalls.

What are the basic elements of a defective power tool claim?

When a power tool that you use for work or around the house is defective, the electric shocks and other injuries can cause severe injuries or death. Our New Jersey defective power tool lawyers normally file three types of product liability claims against the manufacturers of these defective tools:

Strict liability

New Jersey laws give the users of defective products the right to file a claim against the manufacturer if the product is defective when it is used, and that defect causes your injuries. Power tools are considered defective if:

The product causing the harm was not reasonably fit, suitable, or safe for its intended purpose because it:

  1. Deviated from the design specifications, formulae, or performance standards of the manufacturer or from otherwise identical units manufactured to the same manufacturing specifications or formulae, or
  2. Failed to contain adequate warnings or instructions, or
  3. Was designed in a defective manner.

Anyone who uses the tool can normally file a claim including work employees, work contractors, and anyone at home who uses the tool for hobbies or crafts.

There is no requirement to prove the manufacturer was negligent. If the main conditions – a tool is defective, and the defect is the proximate cause of the harm – are met, the manufacturer can be held strictly liable for a defective power tool.

In strict liability claims, the sellers of defective power tools may also be liable.

Negligence

For this type of claim, the user must show the manufacturer breached a duty of care to make a safe product. Negligence can be shown, for example, if the manufacturer failed to comply with any industry standards such as failing to test the product before selling it.

Breach of warranty

Manufacturers normally give express and implied warranties that their power tools will work as intended and other warranties. If the power tool does not comply with these warranties, our defective power tool lawyers can file a breach of warranty claim.

If your injury through use of a defective power tool happened on the job, you may assume that you have a Workers’ Compensation claim. While this is most likely true, it is also very important to determine whether you have a third-party liability claim versus the tool’s manufacturer, a repair facility, a subcontractor, or someone else other than your employer.

On the other hand, if your accident occurred at home, you may believe that it was “all your fault.” We urge you not to give yourself legal advice any more than you would give yourself medical advice after a serious injury.

An experienced plaintiff’s attorney can best determine who should be held responsible for a defective power tool accident by beginning a detailed investigation as soon as possible. If you wait too long, key evidence may be lost. Learn your rights after an accident involving a defective power tool.

Do not try to determine who is liable or how much your injury is worth in terms of dollars and cents without asking a knowledgeable lawyer to review your case. Arrange a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey products liability lawyer at one of our branch offices nearest to you.

What types of injuries do power tool users in NJ suffer?

Have you suffered a serious injury such as the following because of a power tool defect?

If you suffered any of these injuries, you may have a claim for payment of all your medical bills, your lost income/wages, your pain and suffering, any scarring or disfigurement, and other damages.

If a loved one died due to a defective power tool, we file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the family members to compensate them for the funeral and burial costs; the financial losses they suffer due to the loved one’s death; and the loss of society, comfort, and guidance the loved one would have provided.

Do you have a defective power tool lawyer near me?

Our New Jersey defective power tool lawyers meet clients at our offices located in:

  • Edison, NJ at 40 Ethel Road and
  • Toms River, NJ at 563 Lakehurst Road

We advise both injured victims and the families who tragically lost a loved one. When necessary, we make arrangements to meet clients away from the office or to use video conference tools such as Zoom.

We have earned the praise of numerous legal organizations, our peers, insurance companies – and most importantly our clients -- for our dedication to our client’s cause, our preparation, our advocacy, and our record of results.

Contact our NJ defective power tool lawyers today

We understand your pain. We know you have many questions. We appreciate how confusing the claims process can be. Rest assured that Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP will calmly and clearly guide you through each phase of the claims process. We’re seasoned product liability lawyers. We invite you to call or contact our New Jersey law offices in Edison, Toms River, or Red Bank to arrange a consultation with a reputable NJ product liability lawyer. We’ll fight aggressively if a defective power tool caused harm.