Lawsuit Filed Over Eye Injury from DeWalt Grinder Brush

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Irvin Jackson

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A Pennsylvania man who claims to have been blinded in one eye by a DeWalt carbon crimp brush has filed a product liability lawsuit against both the tool maker and Home Depot. 

Kevin Waitz and his wife, Karen, filed a complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on May 16, alleging that DeWalt Industrial Tool Company and Home Depot manufactured and sold a defectively designed 3 inch DeWalt Carbon Crimp Cup Brush, which allowed a bristle to detach when the power tool was turned on.

After purchasing the brush at Home Depot in August 2010, Waitz attached it to a DeWalt Heavy Duty Small Angle Grinder the next month and turned it on. One or more of the wire bristles were launched from the brush, piercing Waitz’s left eye, retina and lens.

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As a result of the Dewalt grinder brush, Waitz suffered retina and lens damage and scarring, permanent blindness in that eye, nerve injuries, headaches, emotional and psychological trauma, disfigurement, pain and suffering, according to the complaint. He had to undergo emergency and follow-up hospitalization, surgery and is likely to incur more treatment and medical expenses in the future.

It is unclear from the lawsuit whether he was wearing eye protection, but the claim states that he was operating the device “in a safe and reasonably foreseeable manner.”

The lawsuit charges the defendants with strict liability and breach of warranty, alleging that the DeWalt Carbon Crimp Brush was defectively designed and failed to carry adequate safety warnings. His wife charges DeWalt and Home Depot with loss of consortium.

Irvin Jackson
Written by: Irvin Jackson

Senior Legal Journalist & Contributing Editor

Irvin Jackson is a senior investigative reporter at AboutLawsuits.com with more than 30 years of experience covering mass tort litigation, environmental policy, and consumer safety. He previously served as Associate Editor at Inside the EPA and contributes original reporting on product liability lawsuits, regulatory failures, and nationwide litigation trends.

Tags: DeWALT, Home Depot, Personal Injury, Vision Loss
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3 Comments

Ken
Just yesterday using the Dewalt wire wheel on a Dewalt angle grinder. . .single wire flew off and stuck in my face under my left eye right below my eye protection. . .now it looks like I got punched in the eye. . .dark black & blue! Does DeWalt have any liability in any of these cases?
Todd
I was at work on april 4, 2012. I was using a 1/8″ dewalt pilot point drill bit when the drill bit broke sending a 5mm piece of a flute from the bit had went through the center of my right eye causing damage to the cornea, pupil, shattered the natural lense of the eye and damaged the retina. It took 3 1/2 hours of surgery on the eye to remove the piece of drill bit, lense, blood clots, and stitch cornea shut. I am left with an aphakic eye and dewalt feels they have no liability in this injury
Frank
The 3″ crimped cup brush comes apart under the simplest use. My blue jeans and shirt had many brush particals stuck through them. A few were actually stuck in my leg through the jeans.

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