Failure To Warn: Read The Fine Print

When someone is injured or property is destroyed because a manufacturer did not warn about known dangers you may think your case is a slam dunk. But before you start your victory dance, make sure you can prove that the warning would have been read. Recently, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District overturned a jury verdict in excess of $12 million because the plaintiffs did not prove that the failure to warn caused their injuries. Huitt v. Southern California Gas Company (2010) 188 Cal.App.4th 1586. In Huitt, two plumbers were injured in a gas explosion due to a phenomenon called "odor fade" whereby the odorant added to natural gas was absorbed into new piping. Without the odorant the plumbers were unaware of the presence of natural gas. The plaintiffs argued that the gas company had a duty to warn that new pipes absorb the odorant.