1. Did the guy sustain injuries? Obviously.
2. Should the defendant have known about the danger? Jury said yes. It was reasonable to expect that the supervisors during inspections should have noticed the exposed toggle switch on the table saw and known about the dangers.
3. Did the defendant use a reasonable amount of care to prevent the danger on the property? Jury said no. The supervisors didn’t have knowledge of working table saws. But if they were responsible for safety it is reasonable to expect them to gain that knowledge.
4. Did this failure to use reasonable care cause the injuries? Jury said yes. The accident could have been easily prevented by reasonable knowledge of safety standards when it comes to table saws..

So the verdict was in favor of the inmate. But there was a second part. Obviously they couldn’t place ALL the blame on the prison. A skilled carpenter working a table saw could have also prevented the injury by not standing so close to the switch with his fingers by the blades. So they also had to determine what percentage the prison was at fault vs the inmate. They decided the fault was 50/50 and thus the damages awarded were half of the number they came up with which amounted to around 82 grand. It is something. But you still have to feel bad for the guy. HIs days of being a carpenter are over. Not to mention the pains he is likely to have for the rest of his life. Anyway, interesting week for Todd.