Milwaukee/Product Liability/Defective Product/Power Drill Injuries

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5 most common causes of power drill injuries: when you can sue Injury settlement amounts depend on the quality of your lawyer.

The 5 most common causes of power drill accidents are:

Inattention of user
Unexpected interruption while working
Inexperience of user
Overconfidence of user
Faulty design or manufacture

Milwaukee personal injury lawyers for power tool accidents causing injury or death in Wisconsin

Flawed design or lack of safety features may be grounds for a power drill injury lawsuit. In order to prevail in a product liability case, it must be shown that:

The drill manufacturer and the store that sold it had a duty to do make every reasonable effort to make and sell a safe product.
The manufacturer or store breached its duty to keep buyers of this drill safe.
Their failure to do so caused your injury.
The injuries you sustained resulted in compensable damages.

Compared to the staggering number of people injured in accidents involving power tools each year—900,000—the 5,800 injuries caused by power drills seems almost minuscule. Unless, of course, you’re one of those who were injured by a power drill. While drill injuries aren’t as numerous as table saw injuries, it’s clear all power tools including hand drills, circular saws and nail guns can cause serious injuries such as torn wrist muscles or severe burns.

Fatal power drill accidents are rare but possible

Take the case of the 25-year-old man who died after falling off a ladder with a power drill in his hand. When he fell, his head landed on the spinning drill bit. The bit entered through his jaw and severed a carotid artery. If you or someone in your family has been injured by a power drill, you may have grounds to seek restitution through a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Our Milwaukee product liability attorneys have handled numerous power tool injury cases and offer a free initial consultation to help determine if you have a case worth pursuing through the legal system. There is no charge whatsoever for this consultation, and no obligation to hire Warshafsky Law.

Power drill accidents on the job: securing compensation for work-related injuries

Often, people come to us after being injured by a power tool while on the job. If this is your situation, your best course of action is to file for workers’ compensation. Even if your injury was caused by negligence on the part of your employer or a coworker, you will most likely be limited to workers’ comp benefits. However, if you have been seriously injured or disabled, you may also be entitled to a lump sum settlement. Workers’ compensation benefits will cover your medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and about two-thirds of your pre-injury income. Unfortunately, workers' comp does not provide any compensation for your pain and suffering.

Beware of power drill hazards: actual power drill injuries reported to OSHA

You may be entitled to damages for pain and suffering, on top of your workers' comp. Get a free case assessment.

A carpenter was installing equipment on a sloped metal awning of a commercial building. While boring holes the drill became stuck and kicked back, causing him to lose his balance, fall from the ladder and die.
A floor installer attempted to reattach a mixing paddle to a drill. When he started the drill a finger holding the mixing paddle became entangled and needed to be partially amputated.
Employees working at an oil field used an electric drill to remove a hatch from an oil-water separator. The hatch began leaking, and as they re-tightened the fasteners a flash fire broke out causing burn injuries in all three workers.
An installer drilling a mounting hole moved the drill bit side to side after it became stuck. The bit cut through insulation on a conductor, causing an electric arc and second-degree burns to his face.
A retail employee using a power drill to install base anchors for shelving got his finger caught in a rotating metal bracket, amputating it.
A plumber using an electric drill to bore under a concrete foundation died from electric shock. While working, he had been in contact with the extension cord powering the drill.
An employee following his employer’s instructions used an electric drill with an attachment to mix paint. His drill ignited vapors from the solvent, resulting in second-degree burns and requiring two skin-graft surgeries.
A man drilling into an iron bar suffered an internal injury to his wrist muscle after the drill bit wedged against the iron, causing the motor to spin opposite to his hand.

Third-party negligence claims for power drill injuries

If your on-the-job power drill injury was caused by someone not working directly for your employer (for example a sub-contractor), you may be able to file a third-party negligence claim along with your workers’ compensation claim. A settlement from a third-party claim will cover the full amount of your lost wages and can also include compensation for pain and suffering.

One thing to bear in mind: if your third-party claim is successful you will have to reimburse workers’ comp for any money they may have already paid for your injury. You will, however, be able to keep the difference between the partial lost wages paid by workers comp and the total amount of wages awarded to you. You will also be able to keep any amount awarded for pain and suffering (not provided by workers comp).

How to win a third-party claim for your power drill injury

A third-party negligence claim can be filed against a sub-contractor, a neighbor or any non-coworker responsible for your injury because of their negligent use of a power drill. To win you will need to prove the following:

The third party had a duty to avoid causing injury through proper use of the drill.
Due to their negligence, this duty was breached.
Their breach of duty directly caused your injury.
Your injury merits compensation for damages such as medical costs, lost wages or pain & suffering.

The defendant's legal team will look for ways to show you were partly to blame for your own injury. Your chances of getting the compensation you deserve increase dramatically with an experienced personal injury attorney on your side.

Filing suit for faulty design or manufacturing defect in power drill

We hold manufacturers and others responsible for dangerously defective products.

Sometimes, the cause of an accident can be attributed to flawed product design or defects caused by the manufacturing process. If you believe this is what caused your power drill injury, there may be grounds for filing a product liability claim. These types of lawsuits can be filed against the drill manufacturer, its designer, and even the store where it was purchased.

Additionally, in 2011 Wisconsin altered its statutes on liability law to include a requirement that the plaintiff must present a reasonable alternative design for the product which would have prevented the injury. Rest assured, the personal injury attorneys of Warshafsky Law have extensive experience locating expert witnesses to address this requirement and will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to build the most compelling case possible.

Possible Reasons for a Defective Power Drill Claim

Our personal injury and product liability attorneys handle complex power drill lawsuits arising from issues such as:

Unsafe design/design defects
Lack of proper safety guards
Improper warning provided
Manufacturing flaws
Inadequate quality inspection

Power drill injuries can be devastating for victims and their families. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or wrongful death caused by a defective power drill, contact Warshafsky Law today for a free case evaluation.

How does contributory and comparative negligence affect your claim?

One thing to keep in mind with suits involving personal injury, the opposing side’s insurance company will argue that you were at least partially responsible for the injury you suffered. In such cases, the court will give consideration to what extent your own negligence may have contributed to the injury and reduce the damages accordingly.

If you are found to be more than 50% negligent for your accident and injuries, you will be unable to recover any damages. If you are found to be less than 50% responsible, the same percentage will be taken from your damages. For example, if it is found that you were 40% responsible for the injury, the award would be reduced by 40%.

Due to the complexity of product liability lawsuits, it is imperative you consult an experienced personal injury attorney to give your claim the greatest chance of success.

Protecting your personal injury claim after a power tool accident

What should you do if you’ve been injured by a defective power tool and intend to file a personal injury claim?

First: Seek medical attention for your injuries. Your priority is protecting your health. Documenting the extent of your injuries through professional medical assistance establishes proof of injury (a requirement for a personal injury claim).

Second: Preserve evidence related to your injury, including:

All your medical and insurance paperwork
Contact information from any witnesses
Photos of the tool, your injuries and the accident scene
The power drill which caused the injury (in the same condition as during the accident)

The more evidence you have, the more likely your claim will be successful. Make sure an inadvertent mistake doesn’t ruin your chance of getting the compensation you deserve. Speak to a personal injury lawyer at Warshafsky today to learn how to protect your rights.

How much is your injury claim worth?

If you've been seriously injured by a defective power drill, don't get screwed by a lowball offer.

Victims injured by faulty power drills or the negligence of another deserve compensation to restore them to their state before the accident took place. The amount of damages awarded in a lawsuit or settlement varies greatly and depends on factors such as:

Severity of your injuries / Pre-existing injuries
Disfigurement
Ongoing disability / Future medical prognosis
Pain and suffering
Cost of medical treatment
Affect of your injuries on your lifestyle and ability to work

Warshafsky Law has a reputation for winning society-changing judgments, not only obtaining huge financial awards for injured victims but effecting change to benefit society. Contact Milwaukee’s toughest product liability law firm today for a free, no-obligation assessment of your case.

Hire the expert Milwaukee personal injury attorneys for your power drill accident case—and pay nothing

If you’re going up against the well-funded insurance companies of power tool manufacturers, you need a law firm with some clout. Unlike the “sign and settle” personal injury law firms that are a dime a dozen in Milwaukee, Warshafsky Law won’t stand for the lowball offers of settlement which are commonly made in personal injury cases.

Sign and settle law firms want you to just sign on the dotted line and take whatever is offered so the attorneys can take their cut and move on to the next case as quickly as possible. Not Warshafsky. We put our clients’ best interests first and prepare every case from day one as if it will go to court. We’re not afraid to go up against the big shot attorneys working for the insurance companies, and they know it. A long history of huge wins and society-changing judgments has made Warshafsky Law a force to be reckoned with, both for Milwaukee car accidents and other personal injuries.

When you have been horribly injured and there’s a case to be made for someone else is the cause of your injury, it’s not unreasonable to expect financial compensation for your damages. You have only one shot at restitution through the legal system. Why not get the best attorneys you can?

Act now. Your power tool injury claim gets harder to prove with each passing day

If you or a loved one has suffered a severe injury or death due to a defective power tool, take action to protect yourself and your family today. The aggressive personal injury attorneys of Warshafsky Law will uncover and fight against the root of the problem to win the compensation you deserve and prevent future accidents like yours.

If your injury occurred some time ago and you are only now looking into pursuing legal action, bear in mind that Wisconsin’s statute of limitations on personal injury and product liability claims is 3 years. We urge you to take action before you are barred from doing so.

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