Tag: litigiousness

Categories
judiciary responsibility

Pump Down the Volume

Can somebody sue you for making something wonderful that might hurt somebody else who uses your product carelessly?

Of course. This is America, land of the Bill of Rights, mom, apple pie, Chevrolet … and outrageous litigation.

Some suits are sound, sure. But, on top of those you’ve got your money-​grubbing frivolous actions, pushed by freeloaders and fronted by freebooters, er, lawyers. But at least these folks don’t always win. That’s where I’ve got some good news to pass along: A federal court has slapped down ludicrous litigation against Apple Computer.

Apple makes the popular iPod media player. Litigants Joseph Birdsong and Bruce Waggoner alleged that Apple is culpable for “possible hearing loss” resulting from iPod use, thanks to allegedly improper earbud design.

Birdsong and Waggoner don’t assert that their own eardrums had burst, or even that the ears of others had suffered. In fact, the ruling against them notes: “At most, the plaintiffs plead a potential risk of hearing loss.…”

Obviously, when your own careless conduct causes you harm, you alone are responsible. Turn  your stereo volume to the max and press your ear against stereo speakers. It isn’t the stereo maker’s fault when your eardrums pop. 

By the way, iPods also have volume control.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
responsibility

They Kicked His Own Sand In His Face

John Ulizio became the CEO of U.S. Silica in 2003. That year alone, the firm got 20,000 specks of sand kicked in its face — 20,000 lawsuits insisting that the company was causing a deadly lung disease. Ulizio has been fighting back ever since.

U.S. Silica processes sand. Silica. Silicon dioxide. Grinds it so that it can be used in everything from glass to Kevlar.

Clouds of sand dust may sound like a horrifying health hazard. Maybe worse than SARS, swine flu, and psoriasis put together, judging by the spate of litigation against Ulizio’s company. But lawyers don’t necessarily need sound medical evidence to go for lawsuit gold. Sometimes they just make it up.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the harassment of U.S. Silica was even more blatant than this. After many years of costly court battles, a federal judge has concluded that that Silica was the victim of massive, unadorned fraud. Doctors involved now admit that they didn’t even see the patients allegedly suffering from the disease … just did what the lawyers told them. The fraud fell apart, and the frivolous lawsuits against U.S. Silica have abruptly abated.

Now vindicated, Ulizio is amazed that “finally, after all these years, somebody is seeing the truth.” Sad that we live in a world where this took so long. Lucky that it’s a world with folks like John Ulizio.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.