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Product Warning Label I love product warning labels, no doubt because I teach products liability law. I love them so much that I've been known to take dates to Wal-Mart on Saturday night for a sensual, fun-filled evening of strolling the aisles holding hands and reading warning labels on products. For some reason, I don't get many second dates. We live in an era of perilous over-warning in which, to avoid litigation, product manufacturers feel compelled to warn us about every possible product risk, no matter how remote or obvious. Of course, this only increases the likelihood that we'll ignore all warnings, including the ones we really need to know about. In my Products Liability course, we hold "Stupid Warning Day" every semester. Each student is required to bring in a silly warning label. There never seems to be any shortage of them. (The funniest warning labels I've come across are collected in Chapter 11 of The Law School Trip (the insider's guide to law school). Ladder manufacturers, because they get sued a lot, are particularly prone to include warnings of dubious value on their products. Go check out a new aluminum stepladder. Read the stickers plastered all over it, which include essential warnings such as "Never walk, bounce or move ladder while on it," "Do not use ladder in front of unlocked doors," and "You should never use a ladder if you are not in good physical condition." The following airtight ladder label warning originally appeared (in a modified form) in a parody I wrote for the June 1997 issue of the American Bar Association Journal: |