Warning labels after an accident will be reviewed for failures in their specifics; their placement; and their vocabulary.
Warning labels are legally required on all sorts of products and goods used in homes, workplaces, schools, motor vehicles, semi-trucks, and more here in Illinois and Indiana. State and federal law demand that warning labels be used in an effort to keep people safe from harm and to reduce the number of accident injuries suffered in this country. They are important: warning labels save lives. For more, read our earlier discussions in: Warning Labels: Danger of Serious Injury or Death in Accidents Involving Products and Inadequate Warning Labels and Legal Liability for Bodily Harm.
However, there is no set warning label design established in the law for use on things from car GPS systems to angle grinders; generators; hydraulic lifts; poisons; pesticides; drugs; over-the-counter medications; and food. Instead, guidance is given for manufacturers, sellers, and others with potential legal liability regarding what should and should not be included in their particular label. The actual labels are created and sold by label suppliers or created by the product manufacturers themselves.
Sometimes, the results are simply ludicrous and almost a joke. For examples of funny (and horrifically sad from a safety perspective), see the warning labels in “21 Stupid Warning Labels That Will Make You Feel Like a Genius,” written by Reader’s Digest Editors and published by Reader’s Digest on April 24, 2023; “In Pictures: 24 Stunningly Dumb Warning Labels,” published by Forbes on February 23, 2011; and the “Wacky Warning Label List” compiled online by the University of Delaware.
For safety agencies and those advocating for accident victims and their loved ones, these examples of substandard warning labels do provide a chuckle: for instance, the University of Delaware’s entry of “Cannot be made non-poisonous,” as a warning label on Windshield Wash Fluid is a bit funny.
Nevertheless, there is a lesson to be learned here. Just having a label is not enough. Even if there is a warning label on a product, it can do little if anything to protect people from being hurt or killed from known hazards or dangers. It is imperative that those with a duty of safety and care create effective warning labels for each of their products.
The Job of Effective Warning Labels: Two Requirements
No matter the product or good, the goal of any warning label is to keep people safe from bodily injury caused by known dangers or risks associated with that item. Extensive legal protections are in place in the form of product liability laws as well as statutes and regulations regarding product warnings.
In sum, manufacturers, sellers, and other parties in the supply chain or marketplace have a legal duty to warn of any danger of harm that can happen from any reasonably foreseeable use of that product or good (even if it is an unintended use).
This duty includes creating a warning label that has the following characteristics:
- Adequate language that explains the possible risks of harm or injury from the product or good when it is used (or stored, etc.) improperly; and
- Instructions that describe how to use or operate the particular item in a safe way and proper manner as intended by its maker or designer.
After an Accident: Was There an Effective Warning Label?
After someone is hurt or killed in an accident involving a product, investigations should include an analysis of the item’s warning label to make sure it meets legal standards. Advocates for accident victims in tragedies that include motor vehicle accidents; semi-truck crashes; construction site accidents; factory fatalities; consumer products; and various industrial incidents will consider the following:
Specifics of the Warning Label
When someone gets hurt, it is imperative to find out if they had any way of knowing about the danger they were facing after reading the warning label on the product. A prime example here includes the danger warnings on hot coffee sales, where the customer may not know that they are being sold a liquid so hot that it will cause severe burns (“scalds”) upon contact.
For instance, Starbucks is reported to sell its espresso steaming milk at 160 degrees, and its lattes up to 180 degrees upon request (“extra hot”). This is true even though human skin exposed to a hot liquid at 140 degrees or more will suffer third degree burns in just five (5) seconds. For details, read Scalding Burns, Surgery, Scarring: Hot Coffee Spills and the Importance of Adequate Warning Labels.
Advocates considering the specifics of a warning label after an accident will be looking for language that not only did not make it clear the risk involved with the product but what kind of danger it poses. The specifics should be very clear about what kind of behavior might result in someone getting hurt. The label should be graphic about the risks and the possible harm.
Placement of the Warning Label
Investigations into warning labels after an accident will also focus upon where the warning label was placed on the product or good. After all, the warning label is not any good to a user who does not see it.
Warning labels need to be placed with care. If the warning label is on the product itself, it needs to be in a place where the user is going to be alert to it. If the warning label is found in an instruction manual, then things like the font size, possible text boxes with bold borders, and other design details need to be used to make sure the reader of the manual will see it.
If a warning label is placed somewhere hidden or not easily seen, or where it is easily disregarded by a user, then it may not be effective in preventing harm.
Language of the Warning Label
Finally, there will be a careful scrutiny of the actual language used in the warning label involved in a serious accident. Among these concerns are the languages used in the label. Here in Illinois and Indiana, for instance, many people speak something other than English as their first language.
According to the U.S. Census, 23.9% of those living in Illinois speak a language other than English at home; most of these are Spanish-speakers. Data USA reports that while Spanish is the primary language in 295,350 households here in Indiana, there are Hoosiers whose primary language is Yiddish, Pennsylvania Dutch or Other West Germanic Languages (32,465 households); and German (30,629 households).
For accidents here in our part of the country, questions (particularly for work accidents) need to include whether or not the user (especially a worker on a construction or industrial site) was given a dangerous product to use with a warning label whose language was incomprehensible to them, and therefore inadequate to warn them of danger.
Another factor in the language used in the warning label: its simplicity. Warning labels should not be poetic or clever. They should be clear statements that an ordinary and prudent person would understand at first reading. The words should not be multisyllabic. There should not be technical lingo.
Claims for Justice After an Accident Caused by a Failed or Flawed Warning Label
For those who are seriously injured or killed in an accident here in Illinois or Indiana, there must be an investigation into what happened to cause the tragedy. If it is determined that any type of product or good contributed to the event, then steps must be taken to confirm the existence of a warning label and whether or not it was legally sufficient.
Warning labels come with legal duties placed upon several different companies or parties involved in the accident, from the manufacturer of the item itself down to companies hired to do things like worksite housekeeping or repair, as well as entities like contractors on a construction site. For details, read: Accident Injuries and Warning Labels: How Many Have Legal Liability for the Victim’s Harm?
Damages may be provided to the accident victim and their loved ones under state or federal law. These claims may be based upon things like product liability; premises liability; or negligence law. Recompense may include things like medical expenses, long term care, physical rehabilitation, mental health needs, pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and more.
For more, read:
- Warning Labels and Warning Signs: Liability After an Accident
- Warning Labels and Work Accidents
- Warning Labels: Danger of Serious Injury or Death in Accidents Involving Products
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life
- Pain Awareness: Claims to Cover an Accident Victim’s Pain Damages.
Warning labels are so ordinary in our everyday lives that it is easily to dismiss them; however, they exist for an important purpose. Warning labels that meet legal standards are known to help avoid accidents and keep people safe from harm. If there is a breach in the duty to provide a proper warning label, tragic and preventable accidents may happen with life-altering consequences. Please be careful out there!
