RE: Documentation Issues: Lawsuits, Regulatory Actions

Subject: RE: Documentation Issues: Lawsuits, Regulatory Actions
From: "Dan Goldstein" <DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 08:47:18 -0500

IIRC, documentation wasn't really an issue in that case. The lawsuit
hinged on the actual temperature of the coffee and not on a failure to
warn the customer.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nuckols, Kenneth M
> Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 8:31 AM
> To: Gene Kim-Eng; Scott Abel; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Documentation Issues: Lawsuits, Regulatory Actions
>
> Gene said...
> >
> > I know of several instances where companies were sued by people
> > *claiming* that products had inaccurate or misleading information in
> > their product documents. However, in all of the instances
> I can think
> > of, the suits were either thrown out or the companies won. I'm sure
> > there must be a case somewhere in which someone sued and won
> > using poor product documentation as an argument, but off the top
> > of my head I can't think of any.
> >
>
> What about suits due to a _lack_ of documentation? I think we all
> remember what most consider the "frivolous" lawsuit against McDonald's
> over the hot coffee a woman spilled on herself. She sued and
> won because
> she claimed the restaurant didn't warn her that the coffee was hot.
>
> Now every take-out coffee cup from every restaurant you visit says
> something like "CAUTION: THIS BEVERAGE IS EXTREMELY HOT." (Quoted from
> Dunkin' Donuts cup).
>
> So I don't know if this meets an example of what you're seeking, but
> that's a case where non-existent documentation landed a
> company in legal
> hot water (forgive the pun, please, it's early).
>

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