This is NOT a Challenge Worth Taking

When a consumer is injured by a product it presents a potential liability for the manufacturer. But, if the product was used in a manner that was outside of its intended application, is the manufacturer still responsible?

What if the product that was being used was part of an ill-conceived game that prompted teens to be part of a challenge? A challenge that the manufacturer of said product did not condone.

You might be thinking, “what challenge, what’s this all about?”

Okay let’s say you have a teenage son. Let’s say he’s eighteen. And now he’s complaining of burns to his face and hands and you’re wondering what the heck happened. What on earth caused his injuries. You are going through every conceivable question. You’re wondering what legal recourse you might have and who is responsible. You’re told it’s a common household product that caused the injuries.

You see, the product that caused the burns to his face and hands was something most people have in their homes. Well, most people that wash their clothes. The product in question, although known to be a great laundry cleaner, was to blame. This particular product went by the name Tide Pod.

Maybe you use it, maybe you use something similar. Basically, a Tide Pod is a colorful squishy capsule filled with highly concentrated toxic detergent that you toss into your clothes washer.

Now you might be wondering what’s the connection to the Tide Pods and your son’s face and hands. Well it has to do with something called the “Tide Pod Challenge”.

Kids are daring each other to film themselves taking a bite out of these liquid tabs and then posting the videos on YouTube.

With each new video, the kids try to take the challenge to the next level. And that next level includes heating the pods up and then taking a bite. Hot caustic detergent spewing all over their face and hands all for a few likes, laughs and views on their video.

In my day, if I said something wrong, my mom would threaten to soap my mouth…kids today are eating hot soap packets for fun, and filming it so their friends see how cool (or stupid) they are.

What’s ironic is that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning to parents several years ago about these laundry detergent packets. Those warnings were designed to keep children under five from harming themselves. Apparently, teenagers doing the “Tide Pod Challenge” think the warnings don’t apply to them.

So why do I share this information? I share it to give you an insight on what we as Personal Injury Lawyers who practice Products Liability Law have to consider when deciding on a case. Was the consumer at fault or was the manufacturer at fault? And why?

You might be wondering what does products liability law involve and how is a consumer protected?

Products liability law involves the legal theories of strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, fraud, misrepresentation, and violation of the deceptive trade practice laws. From a consumer standpoint, these cases generally concern whether appropriate warnings were given to users or consumers of products.

Product liability claims often involve heavy industrial equipment, tractors, bulldozers, cranes, lift trucks, oil field equipment, scaffolding, kitchen equipment, tires, pharmaceuticals, smoke detectors, medical supplies, bottling equipment, packaging equipment, chemicals and glues, fertilizers, tobacco products, automotive equipment, camping equipment, ski equipment, ski lift equipment, textiles, hand tools, consumer products, bicycles, surgical equipment, blood products, and food.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a product and you would like to know if you have a claim give us a call at (219)736-9700 today.