Ladders

[mac56]

(Found on FB this morning.)

Do you know what puts most ladder makers out of business?

Lawsuits. It's why ladders are plastered all over with instructions, warnings, and disclaimers.

Because people routinely misuse ladders. They don't properly set the feet, they climb to the topmost step, they stack a plastic bucket and a paint can on top.

And, surprise, they fall. They fall and hurt themselves. They fall and hurt themselves, sometimes resulting in permanent injury or even death.

And then the ladder company gets sued. The ladder company gets sued for not doing enough to keep people from doing something they should know themselves not to do.

They get sued, which often puts the ladder companies out of business.

Why do I bring this up?

Something in the news this weekend brought it to mind.

[hlthe2b]

1. ahem: Family to Pay Price for Trying to Sue Ammo Dealers

Family to Pay Price for Trying to Sue Ammo Dealers

The family of an Aurora, Colorado shooting victim was ordered to pay $200,000 in court fees for the ammo dealers they tried to sue, a ruling that has sparked moral outrage. But how are the fees that high for a case that never went to court? And why weren't they given that day in court to begin with? Sam Brock talks to the experts. (Published Thursday, July 30, 2015)

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/Family-to-Pay-Price-for-Trying-to-Sue-Ammo-Dealers-320224111.html

--snip--

Thomas added that the case was dismissed before a trial could take place thanks to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, a federal law passed by Congress and signed by George W. Bush in 2005.

“What PLCAA does is it provides very broad, blanket immunity from civil lawsuits for both gun manufacturers and gun dealers,” she said. “This is one example of a situation where somebody has tried to address liability, to go after bad actions of a dealer or manufacturer and PLCAA kept them from being able to do so.”

The law makes the gun industry stand out from other industries, said Deep Gulasekaram, a second amendment expert and law professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law.

“It is certainly odd and unique,” he said. “There are very few, if any, other industries that have this sort of blanket shield.”

Thanks to the federal law, cases like the Phillips’ face an uphill battle. That is, if they make it to the courtroom, he added.

There is no comparison to a faulty ladder and by comparison, NO JUSTICE