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Label Overload

Monday, July 21st, 2003

From Friday, 20/20′s John Stossel on tort lawyer John Banzhaf’s claim that fast food ought to come with warning labels:

There are 40 warnings on a stepladder, but I don’t think that makes us safer. In fact, ladders are a good example of how lawyers like Banzhaf have made warning labels meaningless. There are so many labels on so many things that we don’t read labels we should read. Like the warning label on microwave popcorn that tells you could burn yourself when you open the bag. Or the label on some antibiotics that says it won’t work if you take it with milk. We ought to read those, but when there’s so much information, who reads any of it?

True. In fact, I’ve read lawsuits where a manufacturer was sued because the important warning labels weren’t conspicuous enough — they were too buried in the sea of other ass-covering labels.

Can’t really win, can you?

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2003 at 11:59 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

7 Responses to “Label Overload”

  1. #1 |  Don Watkins III |  July 21st, 2003 at 1:42 pm

    How long until someone sues after falling off a ladder trying to read one of the stupid ass labels?

  2. #2 |  Jill |  July 21st, 2003 at 2:33 pm

    It’s the same thing with Mortgage disclosures and closing documents. Nobody could ever read all that stuff and yet state legislatures are passing new laws as quickly as they can, adding more regulations and disclosures. It’s just another realm of nannyism.

  3. #3 |  Frank Hummel |  July 21st, 2003 at 3:40 pm

    Well, I would actually admire the entrepreneurial(spelling?) spirit of this Banzhaf guy. Probably doesn’t give a sh*t abt labels or safety but spends time arguing these cases. I would call that a dedicated professional trying to increase his personal wealth.

  4. #4 |  Amy Phillips |  July 21st, 2003 at 5:39 pm

    Do you think that if I could prove that 12 years of public school left me too stupid to read the warning labels, I could sue the state for making me fat? Just a thought…

  5. #5 |  Terry |  July 21st, 2003 at 6:00 pm

    I really like the warnings on the waverunners in the Outer Banks NC.–they warn that the cooling spray from the engine will damage sensitive areas of the body if directed towards areas such as the vagina or anus. I can’t imagine how one could get into that position, but obviously someone has.

  6. #6 |  Michael Tinkler |  July 22nd, 2003 at 8:02 am

    My favorite labels are on lacrosse equipment. If you didn’t already realize that a sport in which people hit each other with sticks is dangerous, check ‘em out!

  7. #7 |  Rich Casebolt |  July 22nd, 2003 at 4:45 pm

    If Banzhaf’s an “entrepreneur”, so’s your local heroin dealer.

    His activities are parasitic with respect to society … they do not add value or create/expand wealth, but instead just shift more wealth into his pocket.