Danger! They Think We’re Stupid

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among teenagers and adults 15 to 44. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 43,000 people between 15 and 44 died in 2013 as a result of unintentional injury. When all age groups are considered, unintentional injuries are the fourth leading cause of death in the US.
Within the purview of “unintentional” are deaths resulting from consumer products. Nearly half of the unintentional injury deaths resulted from the use or misuse of a consumer product. Accidental poisoning leads the way with nearly 50 percent of reported consumer products related unintentional injury deaths (33 percent of all unintentional injury deaths).
When someone is injured by a consumer product, lawsuits occur. Rarely are injured users of consumer products credited with any sense, common or otherwise, or charged by juries with any responsibility for their contribution to the injury. If the product contributed to the injury, plaintiff counsel contends, the product is obviously defective or the consumer wasn’t adequately warned by the manufacturer (regardless of the fact that thousands of others use the same product without incident).
Legends, true, not completely true and so far out that they sound true, surround the development and history of warning labels. Snopes.com even gets in on some of these urban tales. The best known of these legends chronicles the lore behind the picture on lawn mower decks showing fingers being unceremoniously cut off by the spinning blades. History repeats the story as follows.
Rather than take the time and trouble to find the hedge trimmer, a lazy, “do-it-yourself” yardman reportedly decided to use his readily available, already running push mower to trim his hedges. When he reached down to pick it up, he was shocked when his fingers were removed from his hands.  His lawsuit against the manufacturer claimed that nothing indicated that he could not use the mower in that manner. A jury agreed and he palmed the money (sorry).  Voila, the picture of fingers being cut off if stuck under the deck of a running mower. Incidentally, the validity of this account cannot be proven or disproven, it is likely true.
Reported and actual products-related lawsuits have lead to the attachment of some unusual product warning labels – intended to protect us from ourselves. As you prepare for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, reflect on some of these labels and think how much “crazy” there must be when we are so limited in the manner in which we are allowed to use products (some of these really spoil all the fun).

Credit:http://www.insurancejournal.com

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