How far do manufacturers have to go to warn customers of product risks?
In some cases, it may be further than you think.
Here’s a recent example:
Thirteen-year-old Jordan Eskridge was seriously injured while riding his Mongoose 100XR bike.
The bike was designed with a quick-release mechanism, which is a a device that allows people to remove the bike’s wheels without tools.
Apparently, Eskridge had installed the mechanism the wrong way, and it caused one of the bike’s wheels to come loose when he rode over a speed bump.
The big problem: The way the bike was designed, it was a little bit tricky to install the mechanism.
The maker of the bike, Pacific Cycle, provided a warning in the owner’s manual - but that was it.
Eskridge’s father sued the company and claimed that a warning in the owner’s manual wasn’t enough. Eskridge said that the firm should have also:
- attached a warning label to the quick-release mechanism, and
- provided a verbal warning when he bought the bike.
In fact, the expert witness for Eskridge even went as far as to say that customers rarely read the owner’s manual, so it’s not a good enough way to warn them.
Giving fair warning
The district court ruled in favor of the company.
But the U.S. Appeals Court, Fourth Circuit, reversed the decision and sent the case to a jury trial.
The company said that it shouldn’t be held liable if the warning in the owner’s manual was disregarded.
However, the appeals court agreed with Eskridge that such a dangerous side effect of the product should’ve carried additional warnings outside of the owner’s manual.
Ultimately, the appeals court said it was up to a jury to decide if the company’s warnings were good enough.
So now the firm can either settle for a hefty sum, or take it’s chances during a jury trial.
Lesson learned: Warnings and instructions placed in a owner’s manual may not always be enough, and it could end up costing a manufacturer in court.
When in doubt about a product risk, manufacturers should always try to place a warning label (PDF), if they can.
If there are space constraints, you can always include a label that urges customers to read the manual first before they use the product.
