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August 10, 2017<\/p>\n
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Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, (202) 207-2832, cindyh@nclnet.org<\/p>\n
Washington, DC\u2014National Consumers League (NCL) joined 22-year-old table saw injury victim, Josh Ward, from Sisters, OR, who severed four fingers on a table saw at age 17 in shop class, and other witnesses at a hearing of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this Wednesday. The Commission is considering a safety standard for all table saws sold in the United States using currently available technology. In 2015, table saws accounted for more than 4,000 amputations \u2013 11 a day \u2013\u00a0and 33,400 emergency room visits. This new standard will eliminate virtually all table saw injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cTable saws have a demonstrated pattern of injury affecting thousands of victims and costing society billions of dollars every year,\u201d said NCL in comments filed with the CPSC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can end table saw injuries forever using affordable, available technology so why wouldn\u2019t we do that?\u201d said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL, who offered testimony before the Commission<\/a>. \u201cWhy should Josh Ward \u2013\u00a0at the age of 17 \u2013 have had to suffer life-altering injuries, lifelong pain and risk of infection, and have his dreams of becoming a firefighter destroyed when we could have completely prevented his injury?\u201d<\/p>\n Greenberg noted that today\u2019s technology, which protects users through a sensor that can distinguish between wood and a finger, prevents the blade from inflicting serious injury. Makers of the SawStop saw, which includes this safety technology, have recorded over 5,000 \u201cfinger saves,\u201d cases of people who would have sustained serious injury but did not because they were using a safe saw design. NCL wants all table saw users to have the benefit of this same safety technology.<\/p>\n \u201cAccidents like mine can happen to anyone. You can\u2019t put a value on what it\u2019s like to lose your hand; the Commission needs to finalize its safety standard so nobody else need suffer a life-altering injury as I have done, all because their hand slipped for a fraction of a second while operating a table saw,\u201d said Ward in emotional testimony before the panel.<\/p>\n The hearing took place before the five members of the CPSC on August 9. The Commission is considering this mandatory safety standard for table saws. SawStop\u2019s inventor, Dr. Steven Gass, also testified. Industry witnesses all opposed the CPSC\u2019s proposal, citing cost and other issues.<\/p>\n