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The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., charges that the iPod music player can produce sounds of up to 115 decibels even though some studies suggest that listening to music at that level for 28 seconds a day can cause damage over time. The suit, filed on behalf of John Kiel Patterson and all other iPod buyers, seeks monetary damages to compensate for the hearing loss suffered by iPod users, as well as a share of Apple's iPod profits.
The suit also seeks to force Apple to offer a software upgrade to limit the iPod's output to 100 decibels as well as provide headphones designed to block out external noise.
"Millions of consumers have had their hearing put at risk by Apple's conduct," the suit states.
An Apple representative declined to comment. The company has faced other suits over the iPod, including one over complaints that the devices scratch too easily. Apple reached a settlement in another case, related to the battery life of early iPods.
The latest court action follows several news articles quoting hearing experts who warn that prolonged digital music player use at high volumes may put people at risk of hearing loss.
Apple does caution customers in its iPod user manual, with a section labeled "Avoid Hearing Damage."
"Warning: Permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume," Apple states in the manual. "You can adapt over time to a higher volume of sound, which may sound normal but can be damaging to your hearing. Set your iPod's volume to a safe level before that happens."
The suit charges that the warning from Apple is inadequate because it fails to advise people what constitutes a "high volume" or a "safe level."
Apple was forced to limit the output of iPods to 100 decibels in France, although the suit claims that Apple has not done so in the U.S. and that even that level is "still not safe."
Patterson's suit cites National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health data that sets a safe exposure limit for noise of 85 decibels for eight hours a day. For each 5-decibel increase, the safe exposure time drops by half, the suit says.
The suit was brought by lawyers at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, one of two firms that filed the iPod scratching suit.
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Electronics & Computers Deals here!
Only in America
headphones? Why not sue Sony for the Walkman? Or just about any
rock concert hall. How 'bout any computer maker that outputs too
much volume when headphones are plugged in (I listen all day
through my computer).
I cannot believe people sometimes.
Class Action lawsuits are a fraud. The people affected will only see pennies compared to the millions the lawyers get.
These frivilous lawsuits should be thrown-out. It's a total waste of taxpayer money!
We should file a lawsuit against the law firm!
increased prices since companies have to pass legal costs for
defending themselves onto us. Does this guy think that no other
audio device around can cause hearing damage if you play it too
loud?
money under the shadow of doing "good" for people. So, an
ignorant plaintiff who can't take responsibility for his own health
and actions is going to cost the rest of us the ability to crank our
ipods through our car stereos. Take responsibility for yourself
and don't expect the world to cradle your non-forking family
tree.
I hope these guys lose to Apple, and then have to pay court fees
for their ignorance.
On top of it all, they'll force the passing of laws against
"frivolous lawsuits" which will dragnet legitimate lawsuits. All
these people are doing is making the rest of us pay for their
sheister vacations.
It is the responsibility of the user of any product to make sure that a produce in use is used safetly.
- Personal Responsibility
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by TeoNYC
February 2, 2006 12:06 PM PST
- What ever happened to personal responsibility. It seems no one
-
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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next 10 Comments >>wants to take responsibility for their own actions. McDonalds made
me fat, videogames made me violent, and now iPods make me
deaf. This is not new technology. Walkman, portable CD players
and the like have been around for decades. If you haven't figured it
out by now, why should Apple be held responsible?