Freedom of Press is limited to those who own one - H.L. Mencken

Fishy

by Lee

And we wonder why everything costs so damn much.  This is the type of case that’s clogging our federal courts.

The Supreme Court agreed to consider Tuesday whether family members can sue in federal court after a 14-year-old girl cut her finger on a Star-Kist tuna can and suffered permanent damage.

The case raises a technical issue over the family’s access to federal courts if their alleged harm does not amount to at least $75,000 — the minimum required under U.S. law — but the girl’s separate lawsuit alleging physical damages and pain and suffering does.

Beatriz Blanco-Ortega, then 9, was at school in Puerto Rico when she cut her finger on the tuna can and bled profusely for nearly 30 minutes. After a nurse stopped the bleeding, her mother took her in for surgery. The doctor reported she suffered scarring and a minor permanent impairment that could get worse over time.

Why the hell did this ever make it to court in the first place?  Was the can defective?  Of course not.  Tuna cans, like all open cans, are sharp.  They always have been and always will be.  How, in the name of God, is the tuna manufacturer responsible for some little girl cutting her finger on a can? 

I was slicing a bagel in half about a month ago and I gashed my finger open.  Who is responsible, the bagel manufacturer or the knife manufacturer?  I mean, God knows it couldn’t be my fault, right?

Product liability is one thing.  But making products liable for the misuse of their owners is another thing entirely.  This case should have been thrown out of court on the first day.

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