Stupid people playing the litigation lottery

One story I have commented on already. Three idiots in Massachusetts are suing Wal-Mart because they cannot have things their way. Lawsuit filed, payouts are being hoped for. What I did not point out previously is their obvious effort at taking a spin in the litigation lottery.

The other story is from someone who is absolutely stupid...not that stupid people in this country is a big surprise anymore.

A Louisiana man claims in a lawsuit that Apple's iPod music player can cause hearing loss in people who use it.

Apple has sold more than 42 million of the devices since they went on sale in 2001, including 14 million in the fourth quarter last year. The devices can produce sounds of more than 115 decibels, a volume that can damage the hearing of a person exposed to the sound for more than 28 seconds per day, according to the complaint.

I think a person can also buy speakers for their I-Pod, right. So the volume feature is not JUST for headphones. And to the stupid people who turn up their volume to dangerous levels I say: "Your own fault. Pity for you." What do they deserve? NOTHING. What should they get? NOTHING.

The iPod players are "inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss," according to the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on behalf of John Kiel Patterson of Louisiana.

Enough with the stupid labels, please. There are enough labels on stuff. We don't need labels, we need natural selection to be allowed to run its course. And again, it is not a desing flaw it is a user-mentality-deficiency.

The suit, which Patterson wants certified as a class-action, seeks compensation for unspecified damages and upgrades that will make iPods safer. Patterson's suit said he bought an iPod last year, but does not specify whether he suffered hearing loss from the device.

Patterson does not know if the device has damaged his hearing, said his attorney, Steve W. Berman, of Seattle. But that's beside the point of the lawsuit, which takes issue with the potential the iPod has to cause irreparable hearing loss, Berman said.

Not only is this yokel suing for stupid people, but now the damage is POTENTIAL.

Think about that. We could use the justification to sue airlines for the POTENTIAL of a crash. We could sue gas companies for the POTENTIAL of an explosion. We could sue restaurants for the POTENTIAL of food poisoning.

Disgusting abuse of the system and worse it is disgusting that lawyers even humor this crap. This lawyer should be fined if not disbarred.

All hope is not lost:

"We have numerous products in the marketplace that have the potential to damage hearing," said Deanna Meinke, an audiology professor at the University of Northern Colorado. "The risk is there but the risk lies with the user and where they set the volume."

A little much needed sanity.