Aitken Redesign

Case Description: A 7-year old student of Doe Elementary suffered severe injury to her hand after being instructed to operate a gate unsuitable for pedestrian traffic. While holding the gate open for her fellow students, the gate was pushed, resulting in extreme injury to her fingers. Consequentially, the girl had to have some of her fingers amputated. The gate was found to be lacking adequate safety features, including proper pinch point, which would have prevented such an incident from occurring.

Result: $900,000 settlement for medical expenses and current and future suffering.

Type of Case: Personal Injury/Hand Injury

Injuries: Severe hand/finger damage including multiple finger amputations.

Plaintiffs Age: 7 years old

Plaintiffs Attorney: Chris Aitken of Aitken * Aitken * Cohn

Unfortunately, these types of injuries are all too common. Outdated or unmaintained equipment is a serious liability for many unsuspecting users. Injuries to the hand, wrist and fingers account for about 10 percent of all emergency room visits in the U.S.. That’s 4.7 million injuries per year, the majority of these accidents being workplace related. Hand injuries can be largely preventable, however, if people took greater safety precaution measures such as wearing gloves. Many employers are now requiring machine operators to wear appropriate hand protection. However, there is only so much that an individual can do to prevent such an injury from happening to them.

Due to the negligence of the manufacturers or the responsible party, this 7-year old girl, among many others, has to suffer the consequences. Luckily, with the support of Chris Aitken and the AA&C team, she was able to secure a just resolution.