According to a court filing, a Mr. John Kiel Patterson filed suit against Apple Computer, Inc. yesterday in San Jose, California federal court.
Patterson’s lawsuit accuses Apple of marketing defective products that damage the hearing of those who use the devices, specifically iPods. Patterson is seeking class action status for his suit. Patterson’s complaint seeks a court order that would require Apple to upgrade the product and compensate victims for hearing loss.
“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 Patterson of Louisiana,” The Associated Press reports. “Patterson does not know if the device has damaged his hearing, said his lawyer, Steve 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… Apple ships a warning with each IPod that cautions ‘permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume.’ The company was forced to pull the IPod from store shelves in France and upgrade software on the device to limit sound to 100 decibels, but has not followed suit in the United States, according to the complaint.”
Full article here.
{Update: 9:32pm EST: Added info from Associated Press report with link.]
Advertisements:
• MacBook Pro. The first Mac notebook built upon Intel Core Duo with iLife ’06, Front Row and built-in iSight. Starting at $1999. Free shipping.
• iMac. Twice as amazing — Intel Core Duo, iLife ’06, Front Row media experience, Apple Remote, built-in iSight. Starting at $1299. Free shipping.
• iMac and MacBook Pro owners: Apple USB Modem. Easily connect to the Internet using dial-up service. Only $49.
• iPod Radio Remote. Listen to FM radio on your iPod and control everything with a convenient wired remote. Just $49.
• iPod. 15,000 songs. 25,000 photos. 150 hours of video. The new iPod. 30GB and 60GB models start at just $299. Free shipping.
• Connect iPod to your television set with the iPod AV Cable. Just $19.
Related articles:
Girl gets gift of hearing thanks to cochlear implants, asks for Apple iPod for Christmas – December 23, 2005
Hearing Loss News: iPods can damage your ears – July 11, 2005
You are in a room with a mass murderer, a terrorist and a lawyer. You have a gun with only two bullets. What do you do?
Shoot the lawyer twice.
California is amazing. The shit that goes on in their courts is the most destructive in our great country.
Stupid fucks
“seeks a court order that would require Apple to upgrade the product”
You mean it can be make it so it doesn’t play when idiots plug it in?
The link above seems to have died. Here’s one from SJ Merc:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/personal_technology/13767883.htm
Tera Patricks
TeraTalks.com
What a fu*king dumb ass. The good lord invented the volume button thats why you use it.
stupid jerkass. This shit would never happen in any other country. I love this country. I think that it is the greatest in the world. However the people like this jack ass who inhabit it make it look like we are all idiots.
UPDATE the iPod??? To do what, NOT PLAY SOUND. Turn the f*cking volume down. Purchase a different pair of headphones. Stop listening to music 24/7. Get a set of powered speakers. Get a life and dump your crummy lawsuit. (sigh. I’m crampy and irritable. This really annoys me.)
Can I sue Comcast and/or Charter Cable for loss of eyesight. I’m certain if I reduced my TV watching during my formative years my eyesight would be much stronger now?
“I like the European concept of the losing party paying the other side’s legal expenses”
If that became law in the US, then forget about suing Corporations. You’d have to have millions in your bank account in case you lost. Any US Corp will claim, oh, $10 Million in legal fees (Lawyers at $500/hr, researchers, investigators, etc.)
If Europe, I’ll bet they have a restriction, such as reasonable legal fees. In the US, the Corps would make sure “their Legislators” wouldn’t include that provision in a US law. So forget about suing the pool company that forgot to put the cover on the drain that sucked out the intestines of the little girl.
MW “points” for who can name the lawyer in the pool case
iWas whipping my ass & the shit paper tore resulting in waste spreading across my palm. I’m suing the toilet paper company for not making a mor durable product to withstand the harsh environments its expected to be exposed to.
Hey Professor!
Freeom of speech. No censorship. That’s why you were allowed to speak your opinion, and that is why I am also.
I am suing this website for publishing this article and causing me to laugh too hard and getting a hernia
The iPod users guide on the iPod install disk, says, in the Safety section,
Avoid Hearing Damage
Warning Permanent hearing loss may occur if earbuds or headphones are used at high volume. 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 volume to a safe level before that happens. If you experience ringing in your ears, reduce the volume or discontinue use of your iPod.
What!!?? Sorry, can’t hear you!
This reminds me of when iPods got a firmware update in Europe that reduced their maximum volume, since the iPod exceeded European standards for headphone jack output power. Had this been a lawsuit in Europe with one of those pre-patched iPods, I would say this case had a chance.
I still use my first iPod, ordered on the day Steve Jobs introduced the iPod to the world. As I recall, a few months after the iPod started shipping, Apple posted a firmware update for the iPod. There was an update that was directed specifically to the iPods being used in France. The update purpose was to ramp back the power output to the audio out port to reduce the maximum volume to a French governement mandated maximum level.
I agree that listeners of any audio devices must take some responsability for their own hearing. Having grown up listening to the Stones, Hendrix, The Who, Black Sabbath and J Geils Band, I listened to more than my share of loud music. When my mother or father complained about how loud the music was, I’d turn it down for a few minutes and turn it back up again later. I honestly don’t know anyone of my generation who didn’t hear their parents yell at them to “Turn it down, You’re gonna go deaf!!! to save their hearing.
Today, I tell my kids to turn down the volume on their iPods. They turn ’em down for a bit and well…
If we (they) don’t listen to our (their) parents, I doubt a little warning sticker from Apple on the package or iPod itself will protect us (them) from our (their) selves.
What? Eh? Speak louder you fookin eel eater!
The Mac made me gay
A little sticker would have saved apple from a billion dollar settlement. I await my 90 cent share of the judgement (having bought 3 of them so far.) Note that the suit is filed in California, wherein the requirement to post signs warning of harmful chemicals on every vertical surface already exists. Enviromentalists, reap the whirlwind.
Nice state of the union address too, I thought. Has anyone noticed that the six most powerful Democrats are pushing 70 years old? If David Crosby could get out of his recliner, he would be PISSED.
Geez, MW is “local”. Tip O’Neill once said that all politics are. Google him if you don’t remember him, he was a heavyweight. Politics aren’t local now of course, and that may have been firmed up, if not begun, when the junior senator from NY arrived.
Walkman syndrome all over… people think they have to live their entire lives with these earbuds hanging out of them… it’s not just the volume, it’s the continuous assault on hearing by non-stop music/noise. Folks ought to take some time to just enjoy silence – if you can ever find any. And another thing: Why does everyone with a cellphone think they have to always be talking to someone on it? Aren’t the folks they’re actually with as interesting? It doesn’t look ‘cool’ anymore, it just looks stupid.
I’d say Apple should offer to settle by replacing his “defective” iPod with one with a fake audio port, and no sound. Just a screen he can see his files on, maybe transfer them to his other “defective” audio devices, like his computer/speakers, his stereo system, or anything else like that. Maybe he can sue them all, and get a bunch of new gear that doesn’t work..! Dumbsh*t!!
TV made me stupid
BMW made me German
ziggybop wrote:
“If that became law in the US, then forget about suing Corporations. You’d have to have millions in your bank account in case you lost.”
Not necessarily. It’d be one huge incentive to have a solid case and a good lawyer before going to the courts. Smart law firms would offer plaintiff’s insurance to cover their clients.
“So forget about suing the pool company that forgot to put the cover on the drain that sucked out the intestines of the little girl.”
Horrific. I might remember this one; did she get caught in the main drain, or one of the recirculation ports? Sounds like it could be a case of negligence among multiple parties.
So France told Apple that their product was damaging hearing and Apple supplied “firmware”, what ever that is, to the Frogs but not to the rest of us?
This lawsuit will go away quickly, because Apple will settle. And Apple will pay, and pay, and pay for it.