Inadequate Warnings

It’s common sense and common courtesy to warn others of potential hazards. As personal injury lawyers, however, we have found that neither sense nor courtesy are particularly common. Many of our clients have been injured simply because they were not suitably warned about a danger.

Case Summaries

Swimming nose-clip causes vision loss; mediation is successful
A child we represented lost vision in an eye because of an accident with a rubber swimming nose-clip. The design was basically a huge rubber band with a nose-clip on the end. The child yanked the item, which was stuck in a piece of furniture, and the nose-clip was fired into his face, causing him to lose an eye. We were able to prove that the product had inadequate warnings regarding its potential dangers and had nothing to address the importance of adult supervision. Our arguments were successful and through a mediated settlement we won valuable compensation that provided for the child’s future college educational expenses.

Satisfaction for injured ATV rider
Our client was riding his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) into a tract of land that had been popular with ATV and snowmobile riders for more than 20 years when he was almost decapitated by a chain that had been strung across a dirt road on the property. He was wearing a helmet, but still received serious injuries. The chain had no flags or signs hanging from it which would make it more visible to fast approaching riders. The company renting a portion of the property, who had installed the chain, didn't post any signs warning riders about the chain and the danger it presented. As a result our client never saw the chain which blended in with the dirt road beyond it. The company responded to our suit by claiming that our client had been trespassing and therefore caused his own injuries. We were able to demonstrate, the company recklessly failed to warn recreational vehicle riders and that the entire property had always been a popular spot for recreational vehicles. Indeed, one of the owners of the property testified that he himself rode his snowmobile there in the winter. Our client received a substantial settlement which compensated for him for his medical expenses, scarring and pain and suffering.