Whoes fault?

[SissySpike]

Just curious as to how people think. If a battery causes damage or injury from venting or exploding due to improper charging or misuse.

Is the person entitled to compensation?

My thoughts are if you use something its your responsibility to know how to use it and what if any or all risks are. After all if done properly there is very little risk of damage or injury from rechargeable batteries.

So I say its pretty much the users fault when something happens.

 

[Raycecar]

Agreed. Users fault all the way. You know there are risks, and you have to understand the consequences.

 

[Ref Minor]

If I drive my car into a wall because I couldn't be bothered to learn to drive who is responsible, me or the car manufacturer?

 

[AgentAnia]

It's a manufacturer's responsiblity to make as safe a product as possible and to advise the consumer of how to use it safely. It's the consumer's responsibility to be aware of safety issues with a product (in addition to or in the absence of a manufacturer's advice) and to use it safely.

Sadly, too many people today play the blame game and refuse to accept responsibility for their own carelessness and/or stupidity and/or ignorance.

 

[crxess]

Sadly, too many people today play the blame game and refuse to accept responsibility for their own carelessness and/or stupidity and/or ignorance.

No.........Sadly the court system will reward any IDIOT for showing qualification

 

[Knosis]

Yeah, we need tort reform badly.

..... - Spill some hot coffee on you and get millions. What could be better?

I agree with the manufacturer needing to make the end-user aware of the nuances of the device. And then it being up to the end-user from there.

Obviously if every device a manufacturer produces catches fire then there is a problem.

 

[Butters78]

I blame Gypsies.

 

[Butters78]

I keed, I agree with you buzzzlove!

 

[anavidfan]

Brings to mind the young girl that was yapping on her cellphone walking and talking. She didnt see the obvious safety cones and taped off areas and blindly walked into the manhole that had not been attended to for a few minutes while the workers looked away to do their job.
MInd you bystanders were also trying to get her attention as he was headed for the hole and she didnt notice them also.

Well of course she walked and fell and her family got awarded a large amount of money. Hopefully they put the money to good use and bought their daugher some "sense"

 

[dokebilee]

Anyone who has trouble understanding the warning labels, or is not aware of the "rare" dangers of electronic cigarettes (and any other electronic devices out there), give me your address and I will come to your house with a extremely large loud speaker.

 

[LucentShadow]

I believe that there are certainly some companies out there who sell unsafe equipment and give bad advice, and I would blame them for that.

For those that got good equipment and advice, but misused it, I blame them.

Overall, most consumers have gotten to be too complacent, with the expectation that they should have to do no research whatsoever on any product that they buy, including reading the friggin manual.

 

[The Ocelot]

Yeah, we need tort reform badly.

..... - Spill some hot coffee on you and get millions. What could be better?

I agree with the manufacturer needing to make the end-user aware of the nuances of the device. And then it being up to the end-user from there.

Obviously if every device a manufacturer produces catches fire then there is a problem.

That's not the best case to cite.

The Truth About The Hot Coffee Case

Picture of actual injuries.

ETA: I was incorrect. The picture I posted earlier was of another person burned by McDonald's coffee. The picture above is of the plaintiff in the lawsuit.

 

[glasseye]

I agree Ocelot. That lady deserved every penny she got. But holy crow that picture is disturbing.

And I agree with Buzz too. If they can read enough to buy the battery, then they should be able to comprehend enough to read the safety measures.

 

[Knosis]

Yeah, I know. I saw a documentary on it. That was the first one that came to mind. IMO still need Tort Reform.

 

[Kweb]

Yeah, we need tort reform badly.

..... - Spill some hot coffee on you and get millions. What could be better?

I agree with the manufacturer needing to make the end-user aware of the nuances of the device. And then it being up to the end-user from there.

Obviously if every device a manufacturer produces catches fire then there is a problem.

I saw a documentary on the coffee thing- the coffee was way hotter than industry standard and the woman needed serious skin grafts and surgery and McDonald's wouldn't help. Her children were just trying to get McDonalds to help out and when the jury saw the horrific burns, they gave her a lot for pain and suffering. If we don't give legitimate cases the respect they deserve, then corporations will be completely irresponsible. Moderation in all things, boys. Let's not be cowboys- this isn't the Wild West.

 

[Gautama]

Just curious as to how people think. If a battery causes damage or injury from venting or exploding due to improper charging or misuse.

Is the person entitled to compensation?

My thoughts are if you use something its your responsibility to know how to use it and what if any or all risks are. After all if done properly there is very little risk of damage or injury from rechargeable batteries.

So I say its pretty much the users fault when something happens.

I believe the only compensation they should get is a kick in the .... Because of their inability to read directions, they jeopardize an industry that is saving lives. Unfortunately, in this sue happy society of ours, they will probably sue and they will probably win. This is exactly the publicity that we do not need.

 

[Butters78]

For millions, I'd take one for the team and get those burns like that picture. Just my legs of course lol.

 

[Nermal]

So, if I buy a kit that includes a car charger, I should know better than to plug it into the socket in a car?

 

[E_DeCastro]

Depends on how good your lawyer is and the judge will determine who is at fault. So banning of hardware will be determined on how vapers handle their gear. One accident can ruin it for all of us.

 

[mkbilbo]

Just curious as to how people think. If a battery causes damage or injury from venting or exploding due to improper charging or misuse.

Is the person entitled to compensation?

My thoughts are if you use something its your responsibility to know how to use it and what if any or all risks are. After all if done properly there is very little risk of damage or injury from rechargeable batteries.

So I say its pretty much the users fault when something happens.

But it's one of those things where it all depends on what actually happened. Last story that I saw fly by about a battery going "boom", the photo clearly showed the woman used the wrong charger. Thing is, the kit she had (and not just as reported in the story, you could see the brand in the photo) does not come with the charge she used.

So... where'd that charger come from?

If the "news" people involved weren't lazy as all get out and did some homework, they might have had an actual consumer issue on their hands. As in, did the vendor sell her the wrong charger? As in, did the vendor screw with the kit from the manufacturer? Such as keep the good charger and dump some cheap piece of junk on the customer?

See, we're never going to know where that charger came from. If the woman took it out of some cheap kit she bought somewhere else and decided to up and use it instead of the one that came with the kit, she's an idiot. If the vendor took the good charger out and dumped a cheap one on her, he's a thief.

But the "news" people just wanted a "e-cig bad, go boom like bomb, run scared, hide children, everybody die" story. They didn't bother to do anything resembling journalism.

(It's too much like homework and that's sooooo boooooring)