Legal Update                        

Interstate Brands v. Industrial Commission (Howard Haulk, Jr.) Ill. App. Ct. 3rd Dist. No. 3-96-0927WC
6/27/97

COMPUTER MANUFACTURER ORDERED TO PAY $6 MILLION TO CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME VICTIMS

In November 1996, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, ordered computer manufacturer Digital Equipment to pay nearly $6 million to three women who developed Repetitive Stress injuries from using their computer keyboards.

One of the plaintiffs, a secretary at the Port Authority of New York, suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, was awarded $5.4 million. A legal secretary also suffering from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome was awarded $300,000 and a hospital billing clerk, suffering from Cubital Tunnel, was awarded $278,000.

The Digital decision is a landmark verdict in that it was the first time a computer manufacturer was held liable for Repetitive Stress injuries blamed on their keyboards.

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