What labeling should provide.
If a product is labeled correctly, the labeling should denote any dangers that the product presents to the user during normal use. For example, if you were to go out and buy a drill, it would be labeled in a way that noted that you should not use it in water, that you should use eye protection when you’re using the device and that it presents certain hazards that cannot be avoided, given the nature of the tool. Provided that labeling is correct, there’s really no unreasonable risk provided to the consumer. The consumer is adequately and properly informed of dangers that are presented by the device.
Problems arise when a device is not labeled in a way that lets you know about the dangers. A man in New York, for instance, sued the manufacturer of a drain cleaner because the labeling did not, according to the lawsuit, correctly illustrate the dangers of blindness that using the product as directed presented. Some products are inherently dangerous. It’s important to remember that, when these dangers cannot be avoided, the manufacturer has an obligation to let people know that they exist.
Talking to a lawyer.
If you’re not sure whether or not you should bother speaking to a lawyer about an injury suffered because of a product, remember that it’s easy to think that you should have known about the danger after an injury occurs. In fact, there may well have been no reason for you to have suspected that the danger even existed if you were not informed. Don’t let media portrayals of people who file these lawsuits as being somehow inept and money hungry influence your decision. Manufacturers have a responsibility to inform their customers about the dangers that their products present and not doing so oftentimes puts people at unreasonable risk.
