RE: Why do we put so many warnings in our manuals?

["Klasovsky, Nick" <nklasovsky -at- nordson -dot- com>]

Bob wrote:

"Say I cause an accident that causes $5 million worth of damage, hardly an
unrealistic sum given medical costs, etc. Being a responsible guy, I've got
$1 million in liability coverage. My victims get the whole works plus
everything I own, but they are still several million dollars in the hole. I
can't give them any more, and they don't have that kind of money either, so
what are they supposed to do? I would call that a very strong incentive to
sue somebody, anybody, who could help them pay. Their grounds might be
incredibly bogus, like my owner's manual (tech writer tie-in) didn't say
that I should step on the brake when I see another car coming. The judge,
the jury, and everybody else knows it's bogus but the reality is that my
victims still need several million dollars plus attorneys fees so they are
looking for the deepest pockets."

The fallacy here is the assumption that the victims need to be made
completely whole. Why? Is there some government rule or regulation that says
so? Is it a constitutional right? A Biblical right (eye for eye, tooth for
tooth), or a natural law? Who said so? The person causing the accident has
already given all he can, and if the victims have gotten all they can from
their insurance, then using bogus means to get any more compensation is
nothing more than robbery. The victims will just have to deal with the
loss....it's just a part of life. Of course, if we had a rational health
care system in this country, maybe victims wouldn't have to worry about
suing everyone and everybody to pay for their medical expenses.

That's the trouble with our society...people thinking that they are somehow
entitled to compensation for every misfortune that befalls them, even if
it's their fault, like the case in the news yesterday of the guy suing the
fast food companies for his poor health. Jeez!

Nick Klasovsky
Senior Technical Writer


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