SC and a legal question

[protege]

This is why scooters, bikes, skates, swing sets and like toys come with so many warnings about the dangers involved in the use of the toy, and why there are specific instructions included on the box regarding helmets, pads, etc. for whenever the scooter is used.

Of course many toys 30 years ago didn't come with those warnings. Nobody wore helmets when riding a bike then. People just didn't think about it, nor was anyone as "lawsuit-happy" as people are now. That's not to say that we didn't get injured as children...but it was simply accepted that "kids will be kids" and life went on

[Shironu-Akaineko]

I still have my lawn darts.

Lawn Darts got replace with those weighted thingies, I think, right?

[XCashier]

I remember lawn darts! I was supremely ticked off when they were taken off the market. When I heard why the only thing I could wonder was where were the parents to make sure the kid wasn't in the line of fire.

Exactly. Our family used lawn darts all the time. We kids knew darned well we needed to stay out of the play area, and why, so we did. Simple common sense, something that apparently isn't common any more.

[LillFilly]

Anything with wheels and a place to stand/sit on is unsafe. That is half the fun of those things!

Ah, but the Schwinn comes with an optional seat and basket! Awwww....

[Calud]

Anything with wheels and a place to stand/sit on is unsafe. That is half the fun of those things!

[Ironclad Alibi]

Ahh, lawn darts. They were featured in the opening scene of Addams' Family Reunion.

[LillFilly]

Nah, the things themselves aren't unsafe, just the users. I can't think of any recalls of them; you just have to make sure to attach the handle together right. If one of those things can handle my fat butt, it gets my seal of approval!

Of course, it depends on if she was talking about the folding razor scooter (with foot brake that you push) or the electric scooter (also folding); 15mph max I think, very nice. Like with any sport, the kids should be wearing the proper equipment. I never rode my electric Schwinn without one!

http://www.electrikmotion.com/schwinns180main.htm

Great quality scooter! Awww, now I'm all nostalgic for it...

[BookstoreEscapee]

When my cousin's oldest daughter was 10 (she just turned 16 last month [!!]), they had just moved to North Carolina, and she got on her friend's little motorized scooter (that she knew she wasn't allowed to be riding), and went flying and broke both arms, and almost broke an ankle.

[JustaCashier]

Oh yeah, I well remember having the lawn darts back in the '70's when I was in my teens! Remember them being deemed unsafe as well.

Don't remember if my guardians "tossed" them away, or if we defied certain death and kept on playing!

Mike

[EvilEmpryss]

Anyone remember lawn darts? 8" of heavy steel honed to a dull point with another 6" or so of cheery colored plastic vanes attached to the end. You were *supposed* to throw them across the yard to try to hit a plastic circle laid out as a target. One occasionally *accidentally* found its way winging in the direction of my little sister. Not hard, mind you, just enough to get her to leave me and my friends alone while we played.

Then one day Dad comes to us and says he has to throw away the lawn darts. Some numbskull brat got themselves a lobotomy from throwing the darts in the air and then trying to catch them. Caught one in the top of the head apparently, and a major hue and cry was raised to get the things banned.

I remember looking at the darts and thinking how hard someone would have to be throwing the things in order for one to pierce skin, much less a skull. The things were as sharp as a finger, for crying out loud! Someone had to be working *really* hard to manage to get one in their head.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yeah, that lady doesn't really have a case against you.

Also, I'm gonna echo what everyone else has been saying. Kids do "unsafe" and "dangerous" things with their scooters/bikes/rollerblades/<insert riding toy here> all the time.

We didn't build ramps in my neighborhood growing up, but we WOULD jump our bikes off the curb. My luck being what it is, I was the only one who ended up falling off his bike and hurting himself when I tried it. That was me and bikes in general. From that little bump off the curb, to ripping up the side of my leg when I went sliding down a hill toward a ravine, to almost separating my shoulder by accidentally going off a fishing bridge by the lake.

zomg that bike was unsafe and dangerous! i shud SUUUUUUUUUE!

[South Texan]

So would this lady have had a case against us? Even though she had NO proof of purchase whatsoever?

Short answer: No.

Since the danger the woman spoke of is not a defect in the scooter itself, and since she is aware that there is some risk inherent in using the scooter, she uses the scooter at her own peril. This is why scooters, bikes, skates, swing sets and like toys come with so many warnings about the dangers involved in the use of the toy, and why there are specific instructions included on the box regarding helmets, pads, etc. for whenever the scooter is used.

[Midorikawa]

Unsafe manner? There's a difference between doing unsafe things in the safest manner possible and being an outright idiot.

I remember going off jumps on my scooter as a kid, among other things that today would be deemed "unsafe", and would get me punished by most modern overprotective parents. Yeah, I fell a lot, but I used safety measures when doing anything more than riding to school or down the sidewalk. My worst injuries were a skinned wrist or two. ...but then again, I'm not one to sue someone else for my own stupidity. I think I finally busted the axles on my scooter after a particularly hard landing. My parent's response was along the lines of "that's what you get for being so rough on it." I never got another one. :-)

Regardless, minor injuries are good for kids, teaches them what they can and cannot do. As a result of many attempts to do things more coordinated kids could do, I've done a fair amount of damage, however, I now know my limits, and won't exceed those (important to know for the mine exploration I do in my spare time.) If I were to exceed what I know to be my limits, I would very likely be dead by now.

Regardless of everything else, kids bounce. :-)

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I can't see how the lady would have any claim against your store. If the manufacturer issued a recall on the scooters, then you'd have to give refunds. But she can't even prove she bought the scooter from your store.

As for how "dangerous" and "unsafe" the things are--anything would become dangerous and unsafe if you were using it in your own version of Jackass--which I imagine a lot of kids are doing.

In the past, my manager has told me that we HAVE to return an item once a guest says that an item is dangerous because our company can still be held legally liable if anything happens.

Yes, no, maybe. Some places have screwy product safety laws that would make it easier for somebody to sue. Cheeselandialand is one of them.

But again, she cannot prove the scooter was bought from your company, so she's SOL.

[BaristaTrav]

Ok.. I'm no attorney... but I'm unaware of any law stating you have to accept a return on something "unsafe" and "dangerous" that was never bought from your business in the first place. It would be the logical equivalent of walking into a Micky D's and trying to get a refund on a chainsaw.. I can't imagine the law would back you up...