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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/8/2010
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Location: Canaan NH
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Hi,
At a recent meeting of the minds, it came to my attention that you must have sawstop table saws in your classrooms as well as the top of the line airfilters and guards if you have any chance of surviving a lawsuit in the event of a student injury.
It was a sobering discussion for me and woodshops across the country. Fact is, one chopped finger can mean the end of your job and your program if the district has to pay on a significant settlement.
So what to do? My district has no money but of course I would like to see these things in my shop. Does anyone know of safety specific grants or other means of gathering the money necesary for these upgrades???
thanks.
Dave
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/6/2008
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Location: Buena Vista, Colorado
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What was the reasoning behind the requirement of having a SawStop and top of the line air filters?
My thinking is, why can we not teach students to be safe, follow safety procedures that are recommended by manufacturers and provide dust masks when they are needed? Are insurance companies and lawyers saying that if we do not have the best we are liable? Perhaps it is because lawyers will argue that we knew there was a safer piece of equipment and we did not purchase it?
I hate it when lawyers and insurance companies try to dictate what we do because it is considered high risk or unsafe. Why don't start making bubble suits for everyone to wear and not let them do anything that may be unsafe like driving, riding a bicycle, swimming, walking and chewing gum at the same time.
Craig R. Patterson, CD
Woods & Drafting Teacher
Buena Vista High School
Buena Vista, Colorado
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/27/2006
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What meeting of the minds?
I heard another teacher profess that if he didn't have a book of safety rules on each piece of equipment, he would get sued and lose everything.
I have never heard of such a lawsuit. What the risk management people are going to look at, is if you did the job of teaching safety and gave them a test which had proof that they went over and learned the questions they missed.
I personally keep all safety tests for a couple of years after a student has graduated. This usually gives me 2 or 3 years of documentation that they were taught and had the tests.
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/8/2010
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Location: Canaan NH
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I agree with you guys, I teach saftey and have practicle and paper tests for virtually every tool and procedure. This came out at the last months meeting of New England wood shop teachers. There were two expert witnesses there that had both been at trials where woodshop teachers and school districts lost their cases(which in turn ussually means loss of job and program) because unless you have sawstop saws, you canot say you are doing everything possible to be safe.
I do not agree with the sitiation, but I understand it. That is why I am wondering if there is money available to update the safety equipment in our shops should there be the need.
It was also pointed out that after the sheriff serves the district with court papers, they drive up to your house and serve you as well. You want to make sure you are piping up loud and clear that you want the best safty equipment in your shop.
Very sobering, but it is reality.
Dave
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 10/28/2009
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Location: Lebanon, ME
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So the bottom line is this: If we can convince SawStop to cease making their product, there will no longer be a better and safer alternative to using machines correctly as they were designed, and applying common sense.
Who wants to start the petition?
PS, I bet those lawyers get 1000X more paper cuts per capita than we hand out BandAids. Of course their little bottles of Purell sanitizer then stings them, so they must in turn protect us unwashed masses.
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Rank: Newbie
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Location: Buena Vista, Colorado
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So if we have a SawStop table saw and students come to rely on the safety features of that saw and neglect the proper safety procedures and get injured elsewhere are we liable because of having the saw and not teaching the proper safety procedures?
Craig R. Patterson, CD
Woods & Drafting Teacher
Buena Vista High School
Buena Vista, Colorado
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/8/2010
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Location: Canaan NH
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Guys,
I am not trying to argue that sawstops are the way to go, but like it or not, the reality is, if a student loses a finger on your table saw, there is a very good chance you will loose your job and perhaps more significantly, the school will close the program, as school boards don't like to be named in law suits and having to pay settlements.
It doesn't matter what the kid was doing. A kid could walk into your class stoned out of his mind and run his hand over your saw and it is your fault. This situation is much less of an issue if you have a sawstop. Sure it can happen with a jointer or some other tool, but there is not a "JointerStop" jointer yet.
Again, I am only asking if anyone knows of funding available to become "as safe as possible"
Dave
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/3/2010
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Location: Snowflake,AZ
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To answer your question, after 20 years of teaching I have never heard of such a grant for safety purposes. Doesn't mean one doesn't exist.
Secondly, if you are in education, you have hung your rearend out over the chopping block for a sue happy society looking to make an easy buck.
If you have a Sawstop and something goes wrong there, you will be sued as well.
The one thing I don't like about the sawstop is getting comfortable thinking that thing will save your hand. Kind of like thinking a seatbelt in a car will save my life......
I decided many years ago that I would do the best I could to keep kids safe and if somebody came after me let the chips fall where they land.
There are so many ways for a teacher to get sued it is amazing to think that we actually go to work every day......
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