A jury has decided IBM Corp is not responsible for the disabling arm and shoulder pains that a woman blamed on long hours of typing on a computer keyboard. Geneva Strickland, of Kansas City, said that after five years of typing on an IBM keyboard she had permanent pain, numbness and tingling in her left arm. In her lawsuit she sought more than $318,000 in damages for lost wages plus nearly $20,000 in medical costs. Jurors said Strickland failed to prove that the keyboard was responsible for her injuries and that she had complained of pain in her left arm before she ever began using a computer. Although many such law suits have been filed, no computer company has yet lost a trial verdict or paid a settlement in lawsuits involving keyboards.
