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Eeh?! What did you say?


Mike

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I can't believe no one ever posted this story here.

Apple faces suit over iPod-related hearing loss

A Louisiana man has filed a class action suit against Apple Computer, saying the computer maker has failed to take adequate steps to prevent hearing loss among iPod users.

The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., charges that the iPod music player can produce sounds of up to 115 decibels even though some studies suggest that listening to music at that level for 28 seconds a day can cause damage over time. The suit, filed on behalf of John Kiel Patterson and all other iPod buyers, seeks monetary damages to compensate for the hearing loss suffered by iPod users, as well as a share of Apple's iPod profits.

The suit also seeks to force Apple to offer a software upgrade to limit the iPod's output to 100 decibels as well as provide headphones designed to block out external noise.

"Millions of consumers have had their hearing put at risk by Apple's conduct," the suit states.

An Apple representative declined to comment. The company has faced other suits over the iPod, including one over complaints that the devices scratch too easily. Apple reached a settlement in another case, related to the battery life of early iPods.

The latest court action follows several news articles quoting hearing experts who warn that prolonged digital music player use at high volumes may put people at risk of hearing loss.

Apple does caution customers in its iPod user manual, with a section labeled "Avoid Hearing Damage."

"Warning: Permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume," Apple states in the manual. "You can adapt over time to a higher volume of sound, which may sound normal but can be damaging to your hearing. Set your iPod's volume to a safe level before that happens."

The suit charges that the warning from Apple is inadequate because it fails to advise people what constitutes a "high volume" or a "safe level."

Apple was forced to limit the output of iPods to 100 decibels in France, although the suit claims that Apple has not done so in the U.S. and that even that level is "still not safe."

Patterson's suit cites National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health data that sets a safe exposure limit for noise of 85 decibels for eight hours a day. For each 5-decibel increase, the safe exposure time drops by half, the suit says.

The suit was brought by lawyers at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, one of two firms that filed the iPod scratching suit. source

*I like it loud!! I've been listening to loud music, including headphones, high wattage auto sound systems most of my life.

I can still hear real good. (when I want to)

If these kind of lawsuits succeed, I think if one gets a speeding ticket they should sue the auto manufacturer for "allowing" the car to go that fast.

Be real... personal responsiblity must be a thing

of the past in this day and age, if only the idiotic judges would throw this crap out with a smirk and a snarl, we'd be alot better off in our society!

Don't you think?

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Years ago I worked for a claims adjusting company. I wasn't an adjuster, just admin, but I saw a lot of really ridiculous stuff.

For example: Stouffer's had just come out with their boil-in-a-bag frozen food items. People were suing over opening the boiled bag and getting burned by the hot steam. DUH. But instead of making a court deal out of it, Stouffer's typically settled for a couple thousand dollars, which was cheaper than going to court.

We had a claim come in once from a woman who had taken an underwire bra out of the dryer and put it on right away, getting burned under her boob cuz she was too stupid to let the thing cool off a little first.

One of the weirdest ones I remember, though, was back when Dow-Corning were first making silicon implants. One case that got filed was that, during rough sex, this woman's partner bit her boob too hard and her implant exploded.

Go figure.

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what about the one where a burglar sued the people whose house he had broken into for some odd reason i don't remember, maybe being injured or something while there!

I remember this one. What happened was this guy broke into someone's house, but got interrupted and ran away. So the homeowners, figuring he'd be back to finish what he started (I don't remember why they thought that) set up a video camera to catch him in the act. Then they hid themselves in their house somewhere. When the burglar came back, the homeowner took a baseball bat to him and beat him up pretty good. And the burglar sued him for personal injury, using the homeowner's own video as evidence, and I think he won.

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I know of a case where the burglar was climbing on the roof of a residential home..fell through the skylight...sued the homeowner..and won!! No real question about why he was up there in the first place. I know the law forces judges hands on occasion, but sometimes somebody needs to make a stand. I want to hear a judge say, "According to the law, you should be awarded this judgement, but the law is so stupis, I'm NOT awarding you anything but jail time."

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It happens all the time. I know of a lawyer who drove his bicycle off a boardwalk when he was dead drunk and he got awarded permanent disability. I know another lawyer who hurt his back taking his briefcase out of the car trunk. He argued and won permanent disability...the kicker was, his disability policy paid $10,000 a month for life if he couldn't practice his occupation which was trial attorney. However, he could still teach law, run a practice, go into corporate law...just not be a trial attorney. that's what he did and he get's $10,000 a month for life. That is called using your insurance policy as an annuity.

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