Products Liability Law Reporter

Sara Childers, 38, was using a RIGID planer, model R4331, to plane siding for a cabin she was building. As she was putting a board through the planer, it stalled and then sped up, allowing its feed rollers to grab the fingertip of her gloved hand and pull her hand into the roller and blades. She suffered crush injuries to and amputation of three fingers on her dominant hand. She returned to her job as a registered nurse but has been unable to complete her job duties as before, necessitating that she turn to per diem work.

Childers sued manufacturer TTI Consumer Power Tools, Inc., alleging negligence and strict liability claims. The plaintiff argued that the incident resulted from a lack of guarding at the planer’s infeed area, allowing her hand to come into contact with the feed rolls and cutting head. The planer’s design failed to meet the performance specification indicated by applicable ANSI standards, the plaintiff asserted, adding that the planer also lacked a protective stop system. Finally, the plaintiff charged that the planer lacked sufficient warnings, including about the use of gloves while operating the product.

The jury awarded over $11.19 million, including more than $1.19 million in economic damages.

Citation: Childers v. TTI Consumer Power Tools, Inc., 3:23-cv-00547-HZ (D. Or. July 22, 2024).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members J. Randolph Pickett, Kimberly O. Weingart, Kyle T. Sharp, Matthew Kaplan, and Rachel Jennings, all of Portland, Ore.

Plaintiff experts: Russ Hunt, warnings, Peachtree Corners, Ga.; Rob Bullen, planer design, Hot Springs, Ark.; Frank Wong, consumer influencing, Portland; Sharla Paso, life care planning, Battleground, Wash.; and Michele Cook, vocational planning, West Linn, Ore.