| Author | Message | ||
     T9r |
That means if I choose to buy a loud exhaust for my motorcycle I could sue the maker of that exhaust... CRAP! It should have appropriate warnings on it! Stupid people are everywhere. Choose to buy an iPod and you too can sue Apple... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020102733_ pf.html Man Sues Apple Over Potential Hearing Loss By DAN GOODIN The Associated Press Wednesday, February 1, 2006; 11:37 PM SAN FRANCISCO -- A Louisiana man claims in a lawsuit that Apple's iPod music player can cause hearing loss in people who use it. Apple has sold more than 42 million of the devices since they went on sale in 2001, including 14 million in the fourth quarter last year. The devices can produce sounds of more than 115 decibels, a volume that can damage the hearing of a person exposed to the sound for more than 28 seconds per day, according to the complaint. The iPod players are "inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss," according to the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on behalf of John Kiel Patterson of Louisiana. The suit, which Patterson wants certified as a class-action, seeks compensation for unspecified damages and upgrades that will make iPods safer. Patterson's suit said he bought an iPod last year, but does not specify whether he suffered hearing loss from the device. Patterson does not know if the device has damaged his hearing, said his attorney, Steve W. Berman, of Seattle. But that's beside the point of the lawsuit, which takes issue with the potential the iPod has to cause irreparable hearing loss, Berman said. "He's bought a product which is not safe to use as currently sold on the market," Berman said. "He's paying for a product that's defective, and the law is pretty clear that if someone sold you a defective product they have a duty to repair it." An Apple Computer Inc. spokeswoman, Kristin Huguet, declined to comment. Although the iPod is more popular than other types of portable music players, its ability to cause noise-induced hearing isn't any higher, experts said. "We have numerous products in the marketplace that have the potential to damage hearing," said Deanna Meinke, an audiology professor at the University of Northern Colorado. "The risk is there but the risk lies with the user and where they set the volume." The Cupertino-based company ships a warning with each iPod that cautions "permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume." Apple was forced to pull the iPod from store shelves in France and upgrade software on the device to limit sound to 100 decibels, but has not followed suit in the United States, according to the complaint. The headphones commonly referred to as ear buds, which ship with the iPod, also contribute to noise-induced hearing loss because they do not dilute the sound entering the ear and are closer to the ear canal than other sound sources, the complaint states. | ||
| Jackbequick |
I'm wearing two hearing aids. My need to wear those was earned through a combination of factors. It is a result of a 20+ year career that involved wearing headphones and listening to radios a lot of the time. And I worked in a lot of high noise environments (ships, airplanes, etc.). My hearing was further diminished by a number of recreational pursuits that also involved high levels (guns, poorly muffled motors in many different forms, loud music, etc.). I used hearing protection a lot of the time as I got older and smarter, but not all the time and not always enough of it. In the course of getting my hearing aids fitted, adjusted, and working I read the statistic that if ear buds are used more than 15 minutes a day, hearing loss will result. For the external, earmuff style headphones, use for more than an hour a day eventually diminishes hearing. Those figures are for use at mid volume on typical CD or mp3 players. I'm 63, not done hearing things yet, and being hard of hearing sucks. The hearing aids I got through the VA are good ones and have really made life a lot easier and enjoyable for me. People should be warned of possible long term price to be paid for the enjoyments taken now. That lawsuit is stupid and blatant attempt to make money for lawyers. But people also need to know that the potential for hearing loss exists, and we need to take some responsibility for teaching our kids how to enjoy things like that without hurting themselves. Jack | ||
| Chainsaw |
Too bad iPods don't come with volume control...  Hope this gets thrown out of court, and that Steve Jobs gets to beat the guy with a stick. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Too bad iPods don't come with volume control Just took my iPod off my head, it has volume control, You are kidding and pulling my leg, correct. Now my Buell has volume control! It is called the throttle, the race muffler can set off car alarms when turned up and just a gentle throbbing when turned down. | ||
| Bikergoddess |
Yes, he was being sarcastic... I use my iPod in the car, with the tape thingie, and I set the volume up on it, so I can turn the car stereo volume down (so as to not blast me out when the tape comes out). Just because ear buds are a common way to listen to your iPod doesn't mean they're the only way, and it's freaking annoying to not be able to turn things up loud enough to hear. Incidentally, a large dog's bark can be over 100dB. Laura | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Well then, I think a software upgrade is in order, all i-pods should automatically cut the sound every 15-20 seconds & a calm soothing voice should come on warning you of the risks of high volume listening. That would do it, I think, but then I'm sure someone else would sue saying that his personal liberty was being infringed under some or other sub-clause of an amendment of your wonderful constitution. Liberty is a two way street. I had to peel off the stickers on my mirrors, as French riders would fold up laughing when you translated "objects in rearview mirror are closer than they appear" Then through their tears they'd cough out the French equivalent of, "but every dumass knows that!" Apparently not! Do American bottles have warnings on the bottom "danger, open other end" ? If not you'd better start now!  | ||
| Loki |
or the portable cd player with this on the warning label. "not to be used as trebuchet(sp?) projectile." | ||
| Skyguy |
Class Action lawyers SUCK!!!!!! The a-holes find things to make money with and it seldom truly benefits the people they are "representing". My favorite example is the old class action against Kellogs. The lawyers got Millions while the people they represented got a coupon for a box of corn flakes..... True story. | ||
| Jxb |
I would never use my loud exhaust and my iPod together. | ||
| Fullpower |
my son just bought an ipod. he was Listening to it while ice racing last weekend. i did not know till after we got home, wife told me he was wearing the earbuds, and rockin out. maybe thats why he blew up the race car engine? think if i sue apple they will rebuild my race engine? | ||
| Cataract2 |
Lawyers like this should be taken out into the street beaten and shot. As for the guy, well, beat him too so he can't breed. | ||
| Spike |
I don't have an iPod, but I do have an old walkman with earbuds. How much is Sony worth? Also, I caught a bit of a chill last night while driving home with the top down in my Miata. I apparently need to sue Mazda for not having a convertible top that doesn't open below 60 degrees. While I'm at it I should also sue Old Navy, Wrangler Jeans, Hanes, and whoever makes the t-shirts for the gas station at Deal's Gap. These articles of clothing combined weren't sufficient to keep me warm, potentially causing a road hazard and putting my life at risk. Also, the cup of coffee I had from Barnes and Noble wasn't able to keep me warm either, so they need to pay up too. Come to think of it, if the NCDOT didn't allow such excessive speeds on their highways I wouldn't have been able to travel fast enough to generate a windchill factor to make me so cold, so I should probably take them to court too. As long as I'm at it, I might as well sue God because he didn't send a big frickin' ray of sunshine in the middle of the night when I got cold- sheer negligence on his part. I am an innocent consumer. I will not be held responsible when corporations fail to protect me from myself. Somebody owes me some money. | ||
| Whodom |
Hey, this is just the tip of the potential iceburg. I hope the guy doesn't get a dime, but there are a WHOLE lot of companies/industries that could be sued on this basis. How many folks could claim hearing loss from sitting in the bottom row of seats for a 500 mile NASCAR race? Personally, I think tracks are asking for it by not posting warning signs and/or giving out a 50 cent pair of foam ear plugs with each ticket. | ||
| Spike |
Update- On my trip home from work I had the top down again and it started raining. One more lawsuit each for Mazda and God. Also, I have 3 PCs on my desk at work, all with internet access. Weather dot com didn't pump in automatic "don't drive home with your top down" precautions, more negligence. Fortunately I managed to put the top before my laptop got wet, so I won't have to sue Acer computers for not making my laptop waterproof. | ||
| Lowflyer |
"Personally, I think tracks are asking for it by not posting warning signs and/or giving out a 50 cent pair of foam ear plugs with each ticket." That is the sort of thinking that perpetuates frivolous lawsuits like these. There has to be some personal responsibility on the part of the patron. Anybody that goes to the races without some thought that it might be loud is an idiot and deserves whatever happens. The problem is that if they gave earplugs away at the races, the next step would be hiring professional earplug installers and earplug inspectors to sit next to each guest making certain that they use the plugs correctly. Otherwise some moron would sue saying that the plugs were not adequate and did not prevent hearing loss. They would go on to state that they were not told to wear them, not told how, not told that carrying them in their shirt pocket would seriously hamper the performance of the earplugs, etc... | ||
| Jima4media |
John Koss from Milwaukee introduced stereo headphones in 1958. I wonder if the Koss company has ever been sued for hearing loss. | ||
| Blake |
What'd you say? | ||
| Skyguy |
When in Europe I raced 60mph go carts and repelled down a 150 foot waterfall with five minutes of training. Went paragliding from sites owned by the French and Swiss Goverments. I never signed a waiver!! The Europeans have a certain sense of responsability that a lot of Americans seem to lack. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Yup, Over here the natural assumption from a general, & also legal, point of view, is "Caveat Emptor" a latin term meaning Buyer Beware. People in Europe are dumbfounded at the stupidity some Americans exhibit. I'm not pointing the finger here, but we all know about hot coffee, & hot apple pies, & mirrors, & not leaving your camper on cruise while you go back to the kitchen to make a sandwich. I won't say we're immune to stupidity, we just don't seem to get it as bad as you do. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Be glad when we adopt that setup for lawsuits grumpy. | ||
| Lowflyer |
Mr_Grumpy, It's not stupidity, it's a learning curve. Our legal system is a few hundred years younger than yours over there. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Do American bottles have warnings on the bottom "danger, open other end" ? I think I saw that warning label on some cheap whines or was it wines. | ||
| Phatkidwit1eye |
Being young. I will admit to listening to things at obscene levels. Recently, I was turned onto high end headphones (Grado,Sennheiser..etc). As the sound quality went up with a good set of can's. The need for turning up the volume went down. With the increase in portable listening devices and insanely loud car stereos. I think I might get into the hearing aid business. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Phat, I reckon you'd be on a winner there.  |
