RE: Documentation Issues: Lawsuits, Regulatory Actions

["Dan Goldstein" <DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com>]

IIRC, documentation wasn't really an issue in that case. The lawsuit
hinged on the actual temperature of the coffee and not on a failure to
warn the customer.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nuckols, Kenneth M
> Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 8:31 AM
> To: Gene Kim-Eng; Scott Abel; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Documentation Issues: Lawsuits, Regulatory Actions
> 
> Gene said...
> > 
> > I know of several instances where companies were sued by people
> > *claiming* that products had inaccurate or misleading information in
> > their product documents.  However, in all of the instances 
> I can think
> > of, the suits were either thrown out or the companies won.  I'm sure
> > there must be a case somewhere in which someone sued and won
> > using poor product documentation as an argument, but off the top
> > of my head I can't think of any.
> > 
> 
> What about suits due to a _lack_ of documentation? I think we all
> remember what most consider the "frivolous" lawsuit against McDonald's
> over the hot coffee a woman spilled on herself. She sued and 
> won because
> she claimed the restaurant didn't warn her that the coffee was hot.  
> 
> Now every take-out coffee cup from every restaurant you visit says
> something like "CAUTION: THIS BEVERAGE IS EXTREMELY HOT." (Quoted from
> Dunkin' Donuts cup).
> 
> So I don't know if this meets an example of what you're seeking, but
> that's a case where non-existent documentation landed a 
> company in legal
> hot water (forgive the pun, please, it's early).
> 

This message contains confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee(s). If you are not the addressee, or the person responsible for delivering it to the addressee, you are hereby notified that reading, disseminating, distributing, copying, electronic storing or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this message is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this message by mistake, please notify us, by replying to the sender, and delete the original message immediately thereafter.  Thank you.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author
content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No
proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com

To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.