_New York State_
Recently while working for a gentleman I was injured.
We had been working at his home doing construction (namely preparing for drywall). He had mentioned that I may use a table saw and thus was teaching me about.
On the second time using the saw the piece I was cutting got caught by the saw pulling it and my fingers into the saw. [I was cutting a 1/8" - 1/4" thick plywood type of piece to an approximate width of 3"].
There are a few things that now, after the accident, I have learned about the table saw (some from him, some from others) that if I had known beforehand may have prevented the accident:
1) Another piece of wood could have been used as a push stick to guide the wood through, as opposed to one's hands.
2) The blade is supposed to stick up out of the table 1/2" more than the thickness of what you're cutting. [In this instance, therefore, it should have been up ~3/4"] I was aware that the blade could move up and down; though this was through my own observation. I was also not taught how to move the blade.
3) There is a safety device that comes with table saws that 'is supposed to prevent this type of injury.' I was unaware of this; it had obviously been removed.
My question is: can the employer be held responsible for this? Is there a possibilty to sue? If this is filed as worker's compensation, is this still a possibilty to sue?
Thanks for your time
Recently while working for a gentleman I was injured.
We had been working at his home doing construction (namely preparing for drywall). He had mentioned that I may use a table saw and thus was teaching me about.
On the second time using the saw the piece I was cutting got caught by the saw pulling it and my fingers into the saw. [I was cutting a 1/8" - 1/4" thick plywood type of piece to an approximate width of 3"].
There are a few things that now, after the accident, I have learned about the table saw (some from him, some from others) that if I had known beforehand may have prevented the accident:
1) Another piece of wood could have been used as a push stick to guide the wood through, as opposed to one's hands.
2) The blade is supposed to stick up out of the table 1/2" more than the thickness of what you're cutting. [In this instance, therefore, it should have been up ~3/4"] I was aware that the blade could move up and down; though this was through my own observation. I was also not taught how to move the blade.
3) There is a safety device that comes with table saws that 'is supposed to prevent this type of injury.' I was unaware of this; it had obviously been removed.
My question is: can the employer be held responsible for this? Is there a possibilty to sue? If this is filed as worker's compensation, is this still a possibilty to sue?
Thanks for your time