Products Liability Law Reporter

Metabo Corp. handheld angle grinders equipped with carbide-toothed circular saw blades were used in the shipbuilding process at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala. The tool, known as a “miller saw,” was sold by Metabo Corp. and Metabowerke GMBH and distributed through Southern Gas & Supply, which allegedly was actively involved in recommending to Austal USA the suitability of the tools. From 2013 to 2017, dozens of workers who used the power tool suffered serious injuries, including severe lacerations, amputations, and fractures to various body parts, including their hands, arms, and chests.

Seventeen of these shipyard workers sued Metabo Corp., Metabowerke GMBH, and Southern Gas & Supply, alleging claims for products liability, negligence, and wantonness. The plaintiffs asserted that the circular saw blades were dangerous and that Metabo had extensive knowledge of the tool’s danger in the years before the plaintiffs’ injuries.

The plaintiffs and the defendants reached a settlement in the case for $8.25 million.

Citation: Keshock v. Metabowerke GMBH, No. CV-2015-901370 (Ala. Cir. Ct. Mobile Cty. Aug. 2021).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members J. Brian Duncan Jr., William E. Bonner, and David G. Wirtes Jr., all of Mobile, Ala.

Plaintiff expert: James B. Babcock, engineering, Baltimore, Md.

Defense expert: Steven Pereira, safety, Denham Springs, La.