Idiot proofing in the US

[Colt45]

What exactly is the reasoning behind this? sick and tired of this bullshit.

The other day i had a bottle of pop that had a "warning, contents under pressure" deal on it. NO WAY. POP, UNDER PRESSURE? holy ******!
etc. etc.
you cant start an american car in gear and it has friggin buzzers when you open the door or leave the lights on.
'Hot' warnings on hamburgers and stuff.

This garbage really makes me lose faith in humanity. It is also a crime against evolution
Can i sue the companies with stupid warnings for emotional distress?



I imagine if you put a "contents under pressure" warning on a bottle of champagne the french would propably kill themselves laughing. etc.


I wouldn't care if this garbage stayed in the states, but because we have a lot of common companies here in canada this BS infiltrates

 

[wvtalbot]

My personal favorite is the "Will make you drowsy" warning on the bottle of sleeping pills.

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: wvtalbot
My personal favorite is the "Will make you drowsy" warning on the bottle of sleeping pills.

I thought it was more along the lines of "may cause drowsiness, so not operate heavy machinery" - no kidding!?

 

[Tu13erhead]

I bought ski poles a few years ago and had to sign a waiver that literally said that if I poked myself in the eye, I would not blame the company.

Pathetic.

 

[RichardE]

I always liked my new stoves "product may become hot when in operation"

 

[ThEFeAR]

If it makes you feel any better, it's not just the US. Here in the UK I bought a packet of eggs, on the top in large red letters..

WARNING: May Contain Egg


I kid you not....

 

[leftyman]

no, its the lawsuiting of America thats causing this.

 

[PHiuR]

Warning: Americans are dumb.

 

[Kelemvor]

It's all because of the stupid-ass justice system in this country. If you don't warn someone of all the obvious things, then you get sued.

It pretty much all stemmed frmo the stupid McDonald's Coffee incident where they got sued because some dumb bitch spilled coffee on herself and got burned. She sued because McDonalds didn't tell her that the coffee was hot.

And it's all gone downhill from there.

Sometimes I wish I was a Federal Judge so I could just take cases like thsi and throw them out and then fine the plaintiff for wasting the government's time with such a stupid thing.

 

[acemcmac]

While many of them are obvious, I'll be the first to admit that I appreciate the ones on products I am unfamiliar with.

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
While many of them are obvious, I'll be the first to admit that I appreciate the ones on products I am unfamiliar with.

I've got no problem with warnings on industrial things, like WHMIS, etc.

it's just the things that are so blatantly obvious that a 4 year old with normal mental function knows these things, that get me.

 

[dighn]

I don't mind the warnings.

 

[moshquerade]

blame lawyers. blame sue-happy people.

 

[jamesbond007]

They're not there for you. They're on the product so you can't sue the company for attempting to 'not know'. (ie: the woman who sued McDonald's because the coffee she spilt or drank was hot or the fat people who try to sue McDonald's because they're fat)

 

[waggy]

heh some of the lawsuits that are filed (and won) are nuts. Like ford got sued because they didnt put shater-proof glass in the explorer. Some drunk lost control and was thrown out the side window in a crash. His family claimed if it had shater-proof glass he would NOT have gotten thrown out. ford lost something like 20mil.

i read www.overlawyerd.com (or something like that.) and it has a bunch of stupid lawsuits. it is kinda shocking what people sue and win for.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
blame lawyers. blame sue-happy people.

Pretty much it. I try not to point fingers in life, but its the justice system.
See the above-mentioned McDonalds incident.

Also, Apple is in the process of being sued for making thier audio device output audio.
Soon there will be a warning on all personal audio devices.

EDIT: In reference to Waggy's comment, the courts really are getting silly these days.
I'm not mad about all the frivolous lawsuits. I expect lawyers to try and dig up money wherever they can. I'm mad at the judges who actually let them into a courtroom.

 

[DaShen]

I say most lawsuits should have the loser pay all or a percentage of the court fees (on the judges whim). That would make some people think twice about suing a company.

 

[BlueFlamme]

IIRC there was a township in NY that refused to put up warning signs about dangerous swim conditions (might have been no lifeguards on duty) because they were not required to by law, but if they put them up and somebody drowned and the signs were found to be inadequate then the town would be held liable.

EDIT: Heck, even the Grammar Spork in my sig has a warning label....

 

[dullard]

I like those warning stickers. They always provide a good laugh. Why remove laughs from our lives? It isn't like the stickers hurt anyone. My favorite is on a can of peanuts: "Warning: may contain peanuts".

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I can't remember which brand it was, but I was looking at a box of ammo at the gun show last weekend and it had a warning label on it that said that the product may be dangerous if used improperly. GEEEEE You think???

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: ThEFeAR
If it makes you feel any better, it's not just the US. Here in the UK I bought a packet of eggs, on the top in large red letters..

WARNING: May Contain Egg


I kid you not....

LOL. Awesome. I like the blanket "may contain peanuts" thats put on everything...but thats like putting it on a jar of peanut butter.

 

[tfinch2]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
blame lawyers. blame sue-happy people.

Don't hate the player, hate the game. Blame the system that allows it.

 

[VitaminR]

I always thought the McDonald's coffee case was ridiculous too, until we discussed it in one of my classes this semester. A quick google search turns up this page: http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

Some notable excerpts:

McDonalds also said during discovery that, based on a consultants
advice, it held its coffee at between 180 and 190 degrees fahrenheit to
maintain optimum taste.

Plaintiffs' expert, a scholar in thermodynamics applied to human skin
burns, testified that liquids, at 180 degrees, will cause a full
thickness burn to human skin in two to seven seconds. Other testimony
showed that as the temperature decreases toward 155 degrees, the extent
of the burn relative to that temperature decreases exponentially. Thus,
if Liebeck's spill had involved coffee at 155 degrees, the liquid would
have cooled and given her time to avoid a serious burn.

The company admitted its customers were
unaware that they could suffer thirddegree burns from the coffee and
that a statement on the side of the cup was not a "warning" but a
"reminder" since the location of the writing would not warn customers of
the hazard.

The jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages. This amount
was reduced to $160,000 because the jury found Liebeck 20 percent at
fault in the spill. The jury also awarded Liebeck $2.7 million in
punitive damages, which equals about two days of McDonalds' coffee
sales.