Toilet Brush, Rectal Thermometer Warnings Win
for Wackiest Consumer Warning Labels of Year
01-06-2005 1:50 PM
By DAVID N. GOODMAN

DETROIT --  The sign on the toilet brush says it
best: "Do not use for personal hygiene."

That admonition was the winner of an anti-lawsuit
group's contest for the wackiest consumer warning
label of the year.

The sponsor, Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, says
the goal is "to reveal how lawsuits, and concern
about lawsuits, have created a need for common
sense warnings on products."

The $500 first prize went to Ed Gyetvai, of
Oldcastle, Ontario, who submitted the
toilet-brush label. A $250 second prize went to
Matt Johnson, of Naperville, Ill., for a label
on a children's scooter that said, "This product
moves when used."

A $100 third prize went to Ann Marie Taylor, of
Camden, S.C., who submitted a warning from a
digital thermometer that said, "Once used
rectally, the thermometer should not be used
orally."

This year's contest coincides with a drive by
President Bush and congressional Republicans to
put caps and other limits on jury awards in
liability cases.

"Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued
times," said group President Robert Dorigo Jones.
"From the moment we raise our head in the morning
off pillows that bear those famous Do Not Remove
warnings, to when we drop back in bed at night,
we are overwhelmed with warnings."

The leader of a group that opposes the campaign
to limit lawsuits admits that while some warning
labels may seem stupid, even dumb warnings can
do good.

"There are many cases of warning labels saving
lives," said Joanne Doroshow, executive director
of the Center for Justice and Democracy in New
York. "It's much better to be very cautious ...
than to be afraid of being made fun of by a tort
reform group."

The Wacky Warning Label Contest is in its 8th year.
                       ___
On the Net:

Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch:
http://www.mlaw.org

Center for Justice & Democracy:
http://www.centerjd.org