There has been a spate of articles
recently poking fun at some of the warning labels on consumer products.
A quick survey at almost any store and the warning labels on almost
every product gives the impression that everything we buy is lethal.
That's not the case, however.
The huge increase in both the number
and the extent of warning labels is largely a response to our litigious
society. Labels warning about every conceivable misuse of a product
are companies' way of trying to protect themselves against product
liability suits.
Most of the product liability
cases filed today include charges that a manufacturer didn't warn
the user of possible dangers from using the product. That represents
a dramatic shift from just twenty years ago when the majority of
such suits focused on product defects that caused injuries.
One of the big spurs to product warnings
undoubtedly was the infamous McDonald's case, where a woman took
a cup of coffee to her car, placed it between her legs and started
to drive; her legs were scalded when the coffee spilled. In the
initial judgement against the company, she was awarded $2.7 million.
Now McDonalds and other fast-food and take-out vendors put big warnings
on their coffee cups: "Warning: Contents Hot."
Most people, except the very young
or the mentally disadvantaged, would expect that hot coffee would
be hot. But our courts and our judges seem to have retreated from
the reasonable person standard in holding companies liable for product
misuse.
Some warnings can also mislead people
about real risks. For instance, warnings on baby walkers that children
can fall down stairs using them misses the real danger that open
stairs are dangerous for small children and parents should have
a gate or rope or door in front of the steps so that toddlers don't
fall down stairs, whether they're in a baby walker or not. The baby
walker warnings and other product warnings may lead people to believe
that they're not responsible for supervising their children or for
using products properly.
Some people may think that these are
the very people that need warning labels that it is important to
protect those who are least able to protect themselves. But the
people most likely to misuse a product probably won't read
and follow the advice on the label. Reckless people won't bother
they're too anxious to use the product. And children or people of
less than average intelligence likely won't be able to understand
and heed the warning -- if they can read.
The warnings on window screens
fall into this category, with cautions that screens are not structural
and are not designed to protect people from falling out of windows.
The main problem with excessive
warnings is that if you warn people about everything, you may
succeed in warning them about nothing. The real hazards may be lost
in the information overload. With so many warnings and so many of
them obvious, the average person may ignore product warnings that
caution about real risks, such as wearing safety glasses when using
a chipper/shredder or not using cleaning solvents near open flames.
So, is there anything to be done about
the appearance of obvious warnings on products? Probably not in
the short-run, unless our legal community pushes for a return to
commonsense standards. In the meantime, consumers should read product
warnings and directions on how to use products and remember that
many more accidents are caused by misuse of products than by the
products themselves.
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Real or Ridiculous?
See if you can tell which are real warnings about these products.
(The answers appear at the end.)
- Kitchen stove: "Warning:
Do not burn wood in the oven."
- Box of staples: "Caution:
Staples have sharp points for easy penetration so handle with
care."
- Car sun shield: "Do
not drive with sun shield in place."
- Automobile doors: "Do
not leave the car when it is moving."
- Sled: "This product
does not have brakes."
- Marbles: "Choking
hazard - This toy is a marble.
- Ladder: "Do not overreach."
- Hypodermic needle: "This
is not a toy."
- Child's play helmet: "This
is a toy."
- Hair dryer: "Do not
use while sleeping."
- Roller blading: "Learn
how to control your speed, brake and stop."
- Microwave oven: "Do
not microwave living animals."
(H stands for hypothetical; R stands
for real):
1)H 2)R 3)R 4)H 5)R 6)R 7)R 8)H 9)R
10)R 11)R 12)H
