Reference no: EM132180141

Best Herbals, Inc.

Best Herbals, Inc., sells natural remedy medicines. Although the company is aware that its diet pills pose a risk of heart damage, the company decides not to update its product label warning because it is too costly and may damage sales. As a result of Best Herbal’s business decision, one of its consumers, Tonya, suffers a heart attack after ingesting the diet pills. Tonya eventually recovers from the heart attack, but her hospitalization causes her to miss two weeks of work.

In this scenario, Best Herbals, Inc., owes a duty to warn consumers of possible side effects associated with its products. The company breached its duty by failing to warn its customers of possible side effects. It is foreseeable that a customer would be injured by the lack of a warning. The harm Tonya suffered was a direct result of the company’s breach. Best Herbals, Inc., must compensate Tonya for her injury (heart attack) and damages incurred (hospital bill and lost wages).

As this lesson’s media on video game violence illustrates, actual causation is one of the most difficult negligence elements to prove. The plaintiff must show that the defendant’s act or omission was the cause in fact of the harm suffered by the plaintiff. That is, the plaintiff must establish that “but for” the defendant’s action or inaction, the plaintiff would not have been harmed. In the case of video games, causation is difficult to prove because of conflicting research about the impact video games have on kids.

Explain the elements of negligence and why the plaintiffs felt the defendants were negligent.

Why did the appeals court rule in favor of the defendants in this case?

In your opinion, do you believe the defendants owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs? Explain your viewpoint.