2006 Wacky Warning Label Awards Announced Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, January 4, 2006
The warning: “Do not use this tool as a hair dryer," found on a heat gun and paint remover that produces temperatures of 1,000 degrees, was the winner of Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch's (M-LAW) ninth-annual Wacky Warning Label contest. M-LAW created the contest to reveal how lawsuits have created a need for common sense warnings on products.
In previous years, Common Good chair Philip K. Howard has praised the contest for raising awareness of the legal fear that "is undermining our way of life, causing reasonable people to act unreasonably."
Other 2005 winners include:
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a label on a kitchen knife that warns: “Never try to catch a falling knife.”
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a warning on a cocktail napkin with a map of the waterways around Hilton Head, South Carolina printed on it that reads: “Not to be used for navigation.”
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a warning on a bottle of dried bobcat urine used to keep pests away from garden plants: “Not for human consumption.”
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the label on a baking pan that “Ovenware will get hot when used in oven.”
“Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued times,” said Robert B. Dorigo Jones, M-LAW president. “An unpredictable legal system – in which judges allow anyone to file a lawsuit on almost any theory – has created a need for product makers to plaster wacky warnings on everything. When judges see it as their job to dismiss cases that are rooted in frivolous theories, we’ll see fewer wacky labels and more fairness in the courts.”
Read more about the contest on MLAW's website.
Read about last year's contest winners.
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