Lawnmowers, Tractors, and Other Outdoor Equipment

Heavy power equipment, particularly those with cutting blades and other moving parts, can cause serious or fatal injuries. For example, more and more homeowners have riding lawnmowers. They allow us to cut and manicure large areas of lawn in a relatively short period of time, but they can also cause serious injuries to arms and legs, including amputations, when they come in contact with small children or unaware adults. Even the common power mower can cause serious lacerations and amputations if not equipped with proper safety devices such as deadman switches and the like.

Farm equipment, wood chippers, chainsaws and other outdoor power equipment can be equally dangerous. They are all very powerful, engine-driven machines that, in an instant, can cause serious bodily injury. Therefore, it is necessary that they be provided with appropriate safety guards, instructions and other protective devices.

It is not only the moving parts that can cause injury. The shear size the weight of something like a tractor can cause fatal injuries in a roll-over accident. Therefore, it is imperative that tractors be provided with proper roll-over protection systems (ROPS).

Over the past 25 years, the attorneys of Gismondi & Associates have successfully handled a variety of cases involving lawn mowers, tractors and other outdoor power equipment including:

• A significant six-figure recovery on behalf of a 16-year-old boy who suffered serious hand injuries due to lack of guard on a wood chipper.
• A significant six-figure recovery on behalf of a young girl from Somerset who suffered serious lacerations of her foot when she was run over by a power lawn mower being driven by her grandfather.
• A significant six-figure recovery on behalf of a construction worker who suffered burns to his arms in a flash fire that occurred when gas leaked from a chain saw.

Manufacturers have an obligation to provide consumers with safe equipment, and we make sure they adhere to all safety standards and good design practices.