Keyboard maker held liable for repetitive strain injuries.
A federal jury in New York ordered computer maker Digital Equipment Corp. to pay nearly $6 million in compensatory damages to three women who suffered repetitive strain injuries (RSI) while using keyboards made by the company.The verdict, reached in December in federal court in Brooklyn, is believed to be the first against a computer keyboard manufacturer. After a three-week trial, a jury found that three women--two secretaries and a billing clerk--had developed extensive arm, wrist, and hand injuries while using the keyboards at their respective places of employment. (Geressy v. Digital Equipment Corp., No.94-1427 (E.D.N.Y. Dec.4, 1996).)
Jurors found no evidence of defective keyboard design but faulted the Maynard, Massachusetts, company for failing to warn the women's employers, who had purchased the keyboards, about the dangers associated with repetitive typing. All three women were full-time employees who spent much of their time typing on the keyboards.
Steven Phillips, a New York City attorney who represented the plaintiffs, said that "extensive discovery uncovered a lot of damaging evidence against Digital."
Phillips said the company had been cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1990 as a dangerous workplace, which led Digital to offer ergonomics training to its own workers. "The fact that Digital changed its internal practices but never warned its customers about the risk was the single most important piece of evidence in this case," he said.
Phillips, who represents many RSI plaintiffs, estimates that there are more than 3,000 RSI cases pending in courts around the nation. Plaintiffs have either settled these cases or lost at trial when juries found no scientific evidence linking keyboard use with repetitive strain injuries.
Digital said in a statement that it will seek to have the verdicts set aside. Failing that, it plans to appeal.
RSI, also known as cumulative trauma disorder, usually is caused by swelling that results from muscle strain or overuse of tendons in the wrist, arm, neck, and shoulders. Carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis are forms of RSI.
Many RSI complaints come from employees who work on assembly lines or computer keyboards for long hours at a time. Surgery, which may alleviate these serious injuries, is generally considered a treatment of last resort.
Phillips said that victory in this case "really tracks the experience of a lot of mass torts. It took asbestos and Dalkon Shield cases about five years before plaintiffs'attorneys prevailed. Geressy is very much consistent with those cases," he said. "Attorneys trying similar cases should take heart in this and stay the course."
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| Title Annotation: | Digital Equipment Corp. |
|---|---|
| Author: | McMurry, Kelly |
| Publication: | Trial |
| Article Type: | Brief Article |
| Date: | Feb 1, 1997 |
| Words: | 428 |
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