Hinojo v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance

The opinion of the court was delivered by

SKILLMAN, P.J.A.D.

This is a products liability personal injury action against the designer of a safety guard on a punch press. Plaintiff worked as a punch press operator for the Durex Company (Durex) in Union. Durex purchased thirty-five to forty punch presses manufactured by defendant Niagara including the one operated by plaintiff. Defendant New Jersey Manufacturer Insurance Company (NJM) was the workers’ compensation insurer for Durex from 1946 through the date of plaintiffs accident on November 20, 1995.

Sometime in the 1950s, Durex asked NJM to…