On her behalf, we brought a claim against the manufacturer of the X-Ray equipment. Extensive investigation revealed that the failure of the unit could have been prevented by making a simple and inexpensive change in the design of the joints between the articulating arms. Using the reports of the expert who discovered the cause of the failure and those of an economist and vocational expert who together were able to establish the lifetime loss of income our client suffered as a result of her inability to pursue her profession, we were able to convince the manufacturer both that it was responsible for the loss and, in a mediated resolution of the case, to pay a substantial sum to compensate our client.
The Case of the Collapsing X-Ray Machine
Our client was a dental hygienist in her mid 20s and mother of a toddler. She had just completed dental hygiene school and took a position at a local dental clinic. While at work one evening, she was assigned to take dental X-rays of a patient. Like those in most dental offices, this X-Ray unit was wall mounted and was equipped with an elaborate system of arms and joints to allow the X-Ray head to be placed in the correct position while the patient remained seated in the dental chair. Because it moves effortlessly when the equipment is properly functioning, it isn’t readily apparent that the X-Ray head at the end of those articulating arms weighs approximately thirty pounds. As our client was positioning the head to take the final set of X-Rays, the unit came apart at one of the joints. Instinctively our client grabbed the head to prevent it from falling onto the patient. As she did so, she suffered a fracture in the wrist of her dominant hand. Although it appeared at first to be a simple fracture which would resolve itself, the injury took a turn for the worse when it was discovered that a major nerve in the wrist area was injured. Several surgeries were required to alleviate her pain and restore a level of function, however our client was unable to return to the dental hygiene field.