A jury sided with IBM against a former high school secretary who blamed the computer giant for disabling repetitive stress injuries to her hands and arms.
In the first case of its kind against IBM to reach a jury, Nancy Urbanski had accused the manufacturer of negligence in designing keyboards and warning users about the injuries, known as RSI.But jurors decided Wednesday that IBM used "reasonable care" in designing the keyboards, and wasn't negligent for not putting warnings on them.
Jurors were not convinced that keyboards caused Urbanski's injuries, and a few thought she was making them up, one of the jurors said. Urbanski said she could not perform her job or household tasks.
"I believe that her keyboard use may have precipitated her symptoms but didn't cause her injuries," said juror Russell Rancourt. "I think whatever she was going to do next would have caused it. It just happened that she worked on a keyboard."
Jurors also felt responsibility should rest with an employer, not the company that built the equipment, Rancourt said.
"Would they sue a pencil manufacturer?" he asked.
"IBM has consistently maintained there is no credible scientific evidence linking the use of computer keys with injury," IBM spokesman Tom Beerman said. "Today's verdict is confirmation that IBM-designed keyboards are ergonomically safe."
Also, IBM had argued some of Urbanski's injuries stemmed from a 1988 car accident and from playing volleyball.
Urbanski also sued Apple Computer Inc. Apple settled last week because of attorney errors. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
After a nine-week trial, jurors also concluded that IBM was not negligent for failing to put warnings on its keyboards. Although Apple was no longer part of the case, jurors reached the same conclusion about Apple's keyboards, which Urbanksi also used.
Urbanksi, 30, said she knew taking on the giants would be difficult, but she wanted to call attention to the issue. Her lawyers hadn't decided whether to appeal.
One of them, Michael Sieben, said he believes computer users will prevail in future cases.
"My experience is it's not unusual in product cases like this for victims to be unsuccessful early on," he said.
Thousands of similar lawsuits have been filed against computer makers.
In February 1994, a jury in Houston decided that Compaq Computer Corp. was not liable for injuries suffered by a legal secretary who used one of its computers and suffered strain injuries. The company, which is the largest maker of personal computers, has since put warning labels on some of its keyboards.
IBM lawyer Michael Cerussi argued that any tool can cause fatigue when used long enough. He said computer keyboards are in no more need of warning labels than screwdrivers or running shoes.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, the number of new cumulative trauma or repetitive stress injuries more than doubled between 1989 and 1993, rising from 147,000 to 302,000. An increasing number of the injuries are occurring in the white-collar service sector.