An auto glass installer lawsuit in Washington State has been given class action status for users of the Chicago Pneumatic Pneunife CP-838.

Eric Boos and James Rasmussen, auto glass installers in the state, originally filed the suit. The notice of class action by the Superior Court for King County identifies the members of the class as, "All Washington residents who used the Chicago Pneumatic "Pneu-nife," CP-838, to remove auto glass while on the job who - as of March 14, 2005 -- have numbness, tingling, pain or whitening of the fingers upon exposure to cold or who have received a diagnosis of hand-arm vibration syndrome ("HAVS"), Vibration White Finger or Secondary Raynauds syndrome from a physician."

The court notice states, "The plaintiffs claim that the tool was dangerously defective and that Chicago Pneumatic was at fault in its design, testing and sale of the CP-838. In addition to pursuing their own claims, the named plaintiffs seek to establish for the remainder of the class that the tool is dangerously defective and that Chicago Pneumatic acted negligently."

It adds, "The defendant denies plaintiffs' claim. The defendant contends that the tool is safe as designed and that it was not the cause of any injuries to the plaintiffs."

When contacted, a representative for Chicago Pneumatic said the company had no comment concerning the suit.

The complete notice is available at the web site for the law firm that is handling the case, Paul & Sugerman, http://www.pspc.com.