Ceja

Introduction

Appellant Alfredo Ceja cut and mangled his left hand with a 185-milli-meter Makita circular saw while constructing wooden produce bins for his employer, J. R. Wood, Inc. The saw was equipped with a spring-loaded blade guard, which had been tied back.

Appellant alleged that his hand-held circular saw was a power press. He further alleged that his employer’s manager had instructed all employees to tie back the blade guards to their saws.

The employer demurred to the original complaint claiming that a hand-held saw was not a power press. The trial court sustained the defendant’s demurrer with leave to amend. The defendant brought a second demurrer which the court again sustained with leave to amend. Appellant stood on his first amended complaint. The defendant then brought a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to amend within the time allotted by the court. The action was formally dismissed by written order of the court and this appeal followed.

Discussion

I.

Does a Hand-held Circular Saw Qualify as a Power Press Under Labor Code Section 4558?

Labor Code section 4558, subdivision (b), acts as an exception to the general rule in workers’…