Respond to (2) Peers – Week 3
Question 1 was:
The power of advertising is in its persuasive influence, and this influence can take several different forms. Research one example lawsuit, using the legal database, of persuasive but deceptive advertising within the last five years that violates the law regarding product liability warranty. Be sure to identify the facts and explain the law in your answer. See Section 13-2: Advertising as a Contract Basis for Product Liability in your textbook. Provide support for your response. Nexis-Uni link: https://libdatab.strayer.edu/login?url=https://www.nexisuni.com
In relation to government enforcement of product warranty and liability claims, research the Internet or the Strayer Library for information about the latest activities by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Analyze the current state of government regulation for product safety to determine whether each administrative agency is generally proactive or reactive. Provide one specific example within the last year from each agency.
Peer Response:
The basis for product liability is a warranty Depending on the specifics of the case, an injured consumer can seek compensation from one or more liable parties, including manufacturers, wholesalers, and/or retail outlets. Determining the defendant in a product liability case is not a matter of choosing one liable party over another; any party involved in a defective product’s chain of distribution may be held accountable through a product liability lawsuit. When beginning to put together a claim for a defective product, it is important to include any party involved in the chain of distribution.
Manufacturer: This can include a large multi-national company, an individual working out of his or her garage, or any parties involved in the design or marketing of the product. Depending on the size of the product, claimants can include the manufacturer of the defective part, as well as the manufacturer of the entire product.
Retailer: When a retailer advertises an item for sale, it is impliedly ensuring the product is safe and suitable for use. If a consumer purchases a defective product, the seller of that item, even though they were not involved in its manufacture, can be held liable for damages.
Negligence: The claimant must show that carelessness in the design or manufacture of the product led to his or her injuries. The injured party first must demonstrate that the defendant had a duty to sell a safe product. The consumer then must show that the defendant breached this duty. A “breach of duty” can be shown if the plaintiff can prove that the defendant knew or should have known that the product was defective. The plaintiff must also prove that the defective product caused their injuries.
There are many facets of product development in which negligence can occur, including, but not limited to:
Drawing up or reviewing product plans
Maintaining machines responsible for fabricating various components of the product
Failing to foresee plausible uses for the product
Failing to inspect or test the product sufficiently
Releasing the product to the mainstream too hastily
Strict Liability: In general, products liability cases are pursued under the theory of strict liability. With these claims, the injured party is only required to prove that a defect in a product exists and that an injury was sustained as a result. If a defect exists, the manufacturer may be strictly liable for any resulting damages, regardless of whether they exercised extreme caution and care when manufacturing the product. For strict liability to apply, the product must have been purchased in the chain of distribution. Products purchased second-hand is not eligible for strict liability claims.
Breach of Warranty: When a good is sold, there are two warranties the buyer relies on the express warranty and the implied warranty. The breach of warranty cause of action covers any person who would reasonably be expected to use the product.
Express Warranty: Any representation about the product and its safety made by the manufacturer or retailer.
Implied Warranty: An implied promise by the manufacturer (or another liable party) that the product, if used as intended, will not cause any harm.
Question 2 was:
Explain when the empirical rule can be used to help describe data in a population or a sample, defining which data distributions cannot be explained by this rule.
Peer Response was:
The “empirical rule” is also known as the “three sigma rule” or the “68-95-99.7 rule”. This rule can be defined as follows: “in a normal data set, virtually every piece of data will fall within three standard deviations of the mean” (1). The “mean” in mathematics is defined as the average of all the numbers in the set, and can be calculated by taking the sum of all the numbers within the set, and dividing this value by the quantity of numbers within the set. In this definition, “virtually every piece of data” can be replaced with “99.7% of the data”, since not 0.3% is excluded to cover any outliers within the set. In a perfect work, this would be 100%.
Please reference the image below for a visual on this bell-shaped curve! (2)
Mathematically, the emperical rule tells us that given a normal set of data, “68% of observations fall within the first standard deviation, 95% fall within the first two standard deviations, and 99.7% within the first three standard deviations” (3). Let’s consider an example for this! Suppose that we are given data that states the average indoor cats live to be 17 years old, with a standard deviation of the lifespan being 2.5 years. In this case, the math would be as follows:
Mean: 17 years old
One standard deviation: (17 – 2.5) to (17 + 2.5) = 14.5 to 19.5
Two standard deviations: (17 – (2.5 * 2)) to (17 + (2.5 * 2)) = 12 to 22
Three standard deviations: (17 – (2.5 * 3)) to (17 + (2.5 * 3)) = 9.5 to 24.5
