Warning labels

[bthielen]

Penny for your thoughts.

While I served as a member of our company?s product safety committee our corporate attorney talked to us regarding product safety standards. One comment he made that has stuck with me was, ?No matter how well you guard your machine against potential hazards, you never completely absolve yourself from some level of liability. The fact remains that a safety device that is too inconvenient or obscure can in fact become a hazard in its own right.?

I heard a story about how the warning label became placed on butane lighters. True or not I can?t say for sure but what I heard was that a lady had used one of the lighters to light candles on a birthday cake and the lighter, after holding a flame for quite some time, had become quite hot causing her to suffer a burn to her thigh when she placed it back into her pocket. She sued and supposedly won a $38,000 settlement; not because she actually suffered $38,000 in damages and medical cost but because the manufacturer failed to place a warning on the lighter indicating that it could be hot. Now I don?t know what the jury or court judge, whoever made this decision, thought but in my mind I can?t help but think that fire is hot! Anyway, this mentality has now progressed to all facets of life including our electrical equipment.

The question that I have is why do we need to place labels on equipment to inform ?trained? and ?qualified? electricians that electricity is dangerous? When I look at our own product and especially the electrical enclosures with all of the many warning labels pasted on them, I can?t help but wonder how many are actually read and heeded. There are so many labels and decals scattered all over our machinery warning of potential dangers that I personally believe they no longer serve to function the way they were intended and for that very reason have actually become a safety hazard. A single label is an attention getter but a label hidden within the crowd is ignored.

Be honest, how many of you actually read and pay attention to these warning labels? Are they truly effective in the workplace or are they no different than the dozen or so warnings pasted all over my 4-wheeler; so obscure that I scarcely know they?re there?

I?m waiting for the day that I look into a new automobile and find a label on the dash warning that collisions with solid objects at speeds in excess of 5 miles per hour can be dangerous to my health and potentially deadly.

Bob

 

[petersonra]

Re: Warning labels

There is a warning in SUVs that they do not handle like normal passenger cars. One would think anyone that had driven one for more than 10 feet would already know that.

I am inclined to agree that warnings should be reserved for hazards that might otherwise be unexpected, especially when warning people who are supposedly trained to deal with the equipment.

I read a lot of manuals. Some of them seem to be 1/3 notes, warnings, and cautions. When you have a caution or warning on nearly every page, it dilutes the effectiveness of the warning or cuation.

 

[charlie b]

Re: Warning labels

The basic problem is that anybody can sue anybody else for any reason, real or contrived. Have you noticed the coffee cups and baked pies at McDonalds, saying the product may be hot? Do you remember a lawsuit against McDonalds some years back, in which a patron who was burned by spilling coffee on their lap won the suit? I would like to see a legal precedence set wherein a person will always lose a lawsuit if it can be shown by the opposing party that, beyond a reasonable doubt, the accident or injury was caused by their own stupidity.

I wonder what lawsuit was brought to what court, to cause auto manufacturers to place the following warning on the passenger-side mirror:

Warning, objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

 

[zog]

Re: Warning labels

I think those warnings are intended for unqualifed persons.

 

[bthielen]

Re: Warning labels

zog,

You know, I think you may be correct. Do you think, though, that we are getting a little carried away with this?

The other day, I was emailed a satire relating to this topic. I'm sure most have seen it. It points out some of the more, for lack of better term, ridiculous examples. One that really sticks out in my mind was supposedly a label found on an iron. "Do not press clothing while on body". Could you imagine someone even considering this procedure? I would be inclinded to think anyone that would actually attmept this probably doesn't have the mental capacity to understand the warning anyway or if they did, they wouldn't follow it. Please don't misunderstand, my intention is not to poke fun at mentally challenged persons or to stereotype anyone.

Bob

 

[69boss302]

Re: Warning labels

I have thought of petitioning that there should be a label that the doctor is required to apply to a baby as soon as it is born and this should cover all situations "CAUTION, LIFE CAUSES DEATH"

 

[celtic]

Re: Warning labels

Originally posted by bthielen:
..how many of you actually read and pay attention to these warning labels?

There are labels?

If people are too stupid to realize that certain activities (whether it be playing with electricty or scuba diving with sharks) can be detrimental to their health..so be it.
Maybe the herd needs to be thinned.
Granted some equipment needs labels to ward off the unsuspecting (Falling Rocks)

, but some are painfully obvious ~ a cup of coffee stating "Contents may be hot" ~ ya' think?

I guess that's what happens when the lawyers are released

.................

 

[be4jc]

Re: Warning labels

My car has a warning lable that states:
this vehicle has prducts & produces products known to the state of california to cause cancer!!! NO *%#&

And lawsuits are the #1 reason I am now a Inspector insted of a contractor I went to 2 seminars about liability while I was contracting & left them both scared to death
We live in a world that it's allways somebody elses fault no matter how stupid you were


Q: What do you call 100 lawers at the bottom of the ocean?

 

[templdl]

Re: Warning labels

Let's face it. We're living in a society that boast about how smart we are but yet claim that it is somebody elses fault if we are careless and then place the blame on others
Look at the example of corporate America. CEOs, CFOs, etc, who claim ignorance about the crimes being committed under their watch. They were supposedly hired because of their knowledge and expertise but them claim to be so stupid and to know nothing about what's going on around them.
It's about us taking ownership and responsibility for own actions, about our ability to read warning signs and instructions, to us common sense.

 

[apauling]

Re: Warning labels

I agree whole heartedly with the sentiments here, but it is often an unreported facet of a lawsuit that is the reason for its success. for example: the famous coffee spill at Macs was not just that the coffee was hot, but that it was scalding hot. That is close to undrinkable. it was hot enough to scald her flesh in a sensitive area. None of the coffee that I have had elsewhere is that hot. maybe enough for me to blanch, but not hot enough to scald.

There are whole groups of people who survive by nuisance lawsuits. that doesn't make the legal system bad. it is often the companies themselves that do not want to pursue their own defense, or of companies that fail to correct known faults. the list is long for product defects from autos to medicines.

So, there are those out there that are after your pocketbook through unscrupulous, vile and evil means. They are also after your children, your wage scale, your home, your retirement, and they are even after social security.

They are after your beliefs, your very life and the lives of your friends and family. if there is something you have of perceived value, there is someone after it.

It was for this that man relied on his "society" to protect him, but that "society" has turned against him, us, and specifically you. Only 50% of us even vote, so how can we complain when we won't pay the "real" social dues, which is participation in the process of our welfare. it is assumed that we will all disagree, but that in that process come to a resolving of the problems.

When we say that we have the greatest country in the world, without participating in the process that makes it so, then we have dropped the ball and have no right to blame. It is the "me-and-my-own" attitude that is largely to blame.

Sorry for the pulpiteering.

paul

 

[69boss302]

Re: Warning labels

Nice sermon Paul, no need to apologize.

 

[George Stolz]

Re: Warning labels

On a lighter (in a sad) note, my sister sent me this a long time ago:

It's time once again to consider the candidates for the annual Stella Awards. The Stella's are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonalds for something in the neighborhood of five million dollars. That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States. The following are this year's candidates:

1. Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son.

2. A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hub caps.

3. Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson
found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.

4. Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next-door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard.
The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.

5. A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and
broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

6. Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to
avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.

7. This year's favorite could easily be Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago
motor home. On his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the R.V. left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this.
The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were
any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles.

Can't vouch for the veracity, but it's a good read nonetheless, in an apocalyptic sort of way.

 

[apauling]

Re: Warning labels

you have got to put in a link to the last one about the RV as I thought this was urban myth. I've heard this one many times..

paul

 

[templdl]

Re: Warning labels

Well, take a look at:Stories Not from StellaAwards.com
And also a helpfull site to check is: Truth or fiction's take on this also

 

[templdl]

Re: Warning labels

Zog, re:

I think those warnings are intended for unqualifed persons.

Real men don't read warning labels, directions or ask for directions when they are lost. It all started with Adam and Eve and the apple.

 

[bthielen]

Re: Warning labels

Paul,

You are absolutely correct. The issue isn't that fact that the frivolous lawsuits are filed. The issue isn't that we have lawyers, after all they are only doing what they are paid to do . The issue isn't even that these suits are allowed to actually be heard as frivolous is only in the eye of the beholder and we all have that right. The issue is in the extreme decisions that are made by the juries and the judges (when juries are not invovled). Okay, so I burnt myself by spilling coffee. Were the damages worth $5M??? Certainly, McDonald's would be more than happy to compensate me for my medical costs along with a reasonable and fair settlement for my pain and inconvenience. But $5M dollars seems a little more than reasonable. This is the idiocy that has consumed our judicial system.

Bob

 

[physis]

Re: Warning labels

To me the most destructive effect of sticking stoopit warning labels on everything imaginable is that intelligent people will (do) become desensitised to them. Sure, you reduce lawsuits by stupit people. I guess. But in reality these willy nilly stickers are only asking to be ignored by their very perponderance.

I saw a discarded mini fridge laying near some railroad tracks a few years ago. It had a big yellow and black sticker on it that said HAZARDOUS MATERIAL. It was the symbol for radioactive material. It wasn't a kid's decoration either. You have to understand that in California rediculisnous prevails. I wonder why it was on railroad tracks instead of a land fill?

The problem in my mind is, given the rampant absurdity, why would any intelligent person give these stickers a moment's consideration?

 

[infinity]

Re: Warning labels

I'd chalk it up to the fact that here in the good ole' United States we have too many lawyers and too many stupid jurors.

 

[roger]

Re: Warning labels

Another sign for stupid people.



Roger

[ July 23, 2005, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: roger ]

 

[roger]

Re: Warning labels

I guess it could be looked at as; "Another sign from stupid people" or maybe "Another stupid sign from stupid people for stupid people".

Maybe we should just leave it alone, remove the sign, and think of it as a means for eliminating stupid people.

Roger