saltwater Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 A recent Topic in the Hard Baits section about copyrights, trade marks and patents has brought-up a touchy subject that applies to manufacturers as well as the hobbyist, product liability. At first it seems silly but there is a legal precedence, think plastic bags with printed Warning A Choking Hazard For Children and food containers warning Contents Hot and Could Cause Burns. At first it does seem ridiculous that you can be liable if your product causes injury. But, it isn't far fetched to find yourself being sued because someone lost an eye from an errant cast or a child died after he swallowed your small jig and the hook became imbedded in his throat and couldn't be removed in time. True, I am not personally liable because my company is an LLC but my company can be liable. Speaking with a liability insurance agent he set certain requirements such as a clearly written warning label printed on my packaging. It states WARNING: CONTAINS SHARP HOOKS WHICH MAY CAUSE INJURY-NOT FOR USE BY CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF TWELVE. He went on to say that if the label was printed in several languages the premium would be lower and if the warning was permanently affixed to my product the premium would be lower yet. My company now has limited liability insurance with a warning label on the package. My policy has limitations and subject to circumstances with a limited amount of pay-out per incidence. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Just put on the label "to be used by certified operators only" Who carries the product liability?, the manufacturer, the wholesaler, the retailer, the distributor, the importer, the Chinese True, I am not personally liable because my company is an LLC but my company can be liable. Are you sure about this? they will go after the shareholders if the company doesn't have enough money. You did say "Any thoughts" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Sell crank baits without hooks... Sell worms in a child proof lock box... Sell spoons with a rubber coating... Do not sell forks... WARNING WARNING WARNING, contents in package want to hurt you!... I love our country, but our society has become an embarrassment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltwater Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 JRammit, I asked the insurance agent about shipping baits without hooks. His response, "People could easily injure themselves when they try to attach the hooks". Gee Wiz.......damned if you do-damned if you don't 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 This crazy law suit society has even had an affect on TU. There are many jig and tool discussions, a major one being home made duplicator machines for carving complex curvature hard bait bodies. Because dup machines involve high speed cutting tools, and complex structure to make them work, they are considered dangerous if construction was attempted by an inexperience builder. For this reason, no one has dared to publish designs or instructions on how to safely build one of those machines, despite a lot of interest. The irony is, that there are enough pics and videos out there on the web to enable anyone with the determination to have a stab at a duplicator build themselves. Inexperienced in design and without a basic understanding of what is required from a safety point of view, or even inexperience with the tools required to build such a project without guidance, places such people in great danger, even grave risk. The use of high speed machinery can go south in a split second, but with the right design, advice, instruction and guidance, such machines can be perfectly safe. But, who in this world of law suit mentality, is going to publish such design guidance and instructions at the risk of being legally liable - not I for sure. I may want to visit the USA one day. Dave 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawkman Posted July 24, 2015 Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) I cut myself while carving with a OCC knife and drinking Tullamore Dew whiskey. I didn't see warning labels on either of the products packaging about carving under the influence. In this crazy world, I don't think I'd have an issue getting a lawyer for both potential lawsuits. Edited July 24, 2015 by mohawkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
