Companies are legally responsible for putting warning labels on their products to ensure consumer safety. These labels must be easy to see, read and understand. Furthermore, the labels themselves must be durable enough to not come off easily and, if necessary, contain appropriate signal words like “Danger” or “Hazard.”
Despite these regulations, warning defects can still occur, which often puts consumers’ health and safety at risk. If you suffer an injury from an improperly labeled product, you could take legal action based on the following defects:
Failure to warn
Products must have warning labels if they pose risks or dangers to users. For example, products with known risks, such as cleaning chemicals, must have labels communicating their potential dangers when inhaled or accidentally ingested.
Some products may also need warning labels if there is a reasonable possibility of consumers misusing the product in a dangerous way. An example would be putting misuse warnings on compressed air, as there is reasonable anticipation of some consumers inhaling it to cause intoxication.
Failure to adequately warn
Manufacturers not only have to put warning labels—the labels must also be adequate. In other words, the warning must:
- Address all potential hazards
- Be clear and understandable
- Be prominently displayed
- Be appropriate for the intended user group
A real-life example of failure to adequately warn is a 2009 case involving a big pharmaceutical company. A patient received an intravenous injection of an antinausea drug. The injection site developed gangrene, which later required amputation of the patient’s forearm.
The court found that the warning was not prominent enough and did not explicitly prohibit the administration method of IV-push.
Failure to adequately instruct
A warning label also needs proper instructions if they are necessary for the safe use of the product. This is because accidents and misuse can happen if:
- The instructions are unclear or incomplete
- They fail to communicate related safety procedures
- They do not account for varying levels of expertise or knowledge
For example, you may have grounds to sue if you assemble a bookshelf that came with incomplete instructions, and that bookshelf later fell on you.
Warning defects can leave us blind to the potential dangers of consumer goods. If you or a loved one suffers an injury because of a bad warning label, consider consulting a product liability attorney who can help explore your legal options.