Lawsuit worthy?

[MushyMushy]

I don't think he is likely to have much of a case since it specifically states in the Owner's Manual "4. Never attach the hopper rope to any part of your body or clothing! Never hold on to the rope while towing the sweeper! Attach the rope to the towing vehicle to keep it away from wheels and rotating parts."

It is difficult to see how he could have lost fingers if he had followed these instructions.

Of course there is never any guarantee that a slick lawyer wouldn't be able to convince a jury somewhere that Craftsman was still at fault.

He was at a complete stop when it happened, so I wonder if it did get stuck under a rotating part. The way it was described to me, he was just sitting and the rope was lying on top of his leg, and when he went to pick it up, it snapped up and tightened on his fingers so fast that BAM, they were gone.

Scary how fast something like that can happen, at any rate!

 

[DukeStreetKing]

I just watched the video. What a terrible design! If that actor wasn't wearing those heavy gloves, he would at the very least have received some nasty slices on his hand or fingers. That heavy collection bag was bouncing around and yanking that cable right out of his hands. Someone definitely needs to redesign it.

 

[MeanLaureen]

I don't think he is likely to have much of a case since it specifically states in the Owner's Manual "4. Never attach the hopper rope to any part of your body or clothing! Never hold on to the rope while towing the sweeper! Attach the rope to the towing vehicle to keep it away from wheels and rotating parts."
.

The actor in the video wasn't following the instructions either then. There were times when the actor had to move the tractor forward while shaking the hopper while holding the rope so he himself was holding the rope while towing. (even though it was ultimately connect to the vehicle it was still in his hand being controlled by his hands while moving)

Extremely poor design.