In a world where everyone sues...

[Rob454]

A gun is a tool, and selling one is like selling any other tool. lets say you were buying a car, and right after you buy it and start driving down the street, the engine blows up. Is it the previous owners fault for not telling you, or your fault for not checking everything out before you bought it?? the same applies to guns. if the buyer buys something, he owns it now. therefore, if he breaks it, the only fault is his. there is no liability in my eyes

If he knew about the problem and did not disclose it then yeah the seller is liable. Too many people sell a POS to some unsuspecting person knowingly its a problematic thing and then hide behind a well you bought it as is its your fault for not checking it out. That is the biggest cop out excuse I ever heard.

Same applies to guns. if the gun is old and possibly worn out or has some problem which makes it unsafe the seller needs to make sure whatever he sells is either brought back to safe well working condition OR discloses what is wrong with it. but not many people are honest these days and simply want to pass the headache on to someone else. If you knowingly sold a unsafe item to someone and they get hurt be prepared to be sued regardless if you knowing or not.

You wait until YOU get taken for something you buy and it ends up costing you a ton of money. Let me know if you change your view when the seller says sorry man you bought it as is.

[RandyD]

Your personal liability policy should provide defence in the event you are sued. Of course if this is your business you would need a General Liability Policy.

Your comment gave me a thought. A homeowner's policy may cover situations like the hypothetical posed by the op. It may be a good idea to check your policy.

[SURVIVOR619]

Lol at fighterpilot562!

[RedFord150]

... If you can sue because your coffee was hot, and win, then anything can happen in court.

If you are referring to the McDonald's case, you are missing a lot of the details that caused the defendant to win. The most important detail was that McDonald's served the coffee at 180 to 190 degrees. Normal serving temp in the home was 135 to 140 degrees. Experts testified that any liquid over 140 degrees can cause third degree burns in 2 to 6 seconds. In the case below, the plaintiff was hospitalized and required surgery.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

This is another situation in which the news media was not always reporting the complete facts.

[alfred1222]

If he knew about the problem and did not disclose it then yeah the seller is liable. Too many people sell a POS to some unsuspecting person knowingly its a problematic thing and then hide behind a well you bought it as is its your fault for not checking it out. That is the biggest cop out excuse I ever heard.

Same applies to guns. if the gun is old and possibly worn out or has some problem which makes it unsafe the seller needs to make sure whatever he sells is either brought back to safe well working condition OR discloses what is wrong with it. but not many people are honest these days and simply want to pass the headache on to someone else. If you knowingly sold a unsafe item to someone and they get hurt be prepared to be sued regardless if you knowing or not.

You wait until YOU get taken for something you buy and it ends up costing you a ton of money. Let me know if you change your view when the seller says sorry man you bought it as is.

I agree with you entirely, but personally, i inspect and disassemble every weapon i am looking to buy and check for internal issues. If its at all possible, i fire the weapon as well. i get that sometimes you just have to buy in good faith and that it is possible to get taken for a ride, but all im saying is that if you do all of your homework on the gun before you buy it, the chance youre getting screwed is less.

[g_conway]

If you are referring to the McDonald's case, you are missing a lot of the details that caused the defendant to win. The most important detail was that McDonald's served the coffee at 180 to 190 degrees. Normal serving temp in the home was 135 to 140 degrees. Experts testified that any liquid over 140 degrees can cause third degree burns in 2 to 6 seconds. In the case below, the plaintiff was hospitalized and required surgery.

http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

This is another situation in which the news media was not always reporting the complete facts.

Actually, I was not referring to any specific case at all.

The original question was "can I be sued," not "what are my chances of being found at fault." In our society, you can be sued for just about anything, no matter how foolish or stupid the suit is.

By the way, my coffee maker heats the water to 200 degrees before releasing to the grounds. About 190 into the pot.