It was bound to happen sometime.  Actually, it's already happened plenty of times.  People suing big companies over things that should fall under their own personal responsibility.  Like when that group of tubby people sued McDonalds for making them fat or suing a tobacco company because their cigarettes gave you lung cancer.  Or my favorite - suing a game company for a crime that was committed by a guy who once played that game. 

Well Apple was finally sued for their iPod and the hearing loss it causes.  Some dude down in Louisiana filed a federal lawsuit against the company claiming the iPods are "inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss."  While some of this does make sense, most of it is sheer stupidity.  There should be some common sense involved here when you put these tiny ear buds in your ear and then blast music through them.  Of course you're going to experience a loss of hearing while doing this!  It's your own personal responsibility to know this and take care of your self, not Apple's.  In all reality Apple shouldn't have to put a warning on its iPods warning people about potential hearing loss.  Then again, we shouldn't have to put warning labels on knives warning people that they can cut themselves with them.  But companies do so anyways to protect themselves from people like this guy.

Where does the line get drawn?  Are people going to start suing shoe companies because they sprained an ankle?  Or sue a clothing company because the business suit they bought didn't get them the job?  Did this guy in Louisiana seriously not know (without any doubt) that blasting music into your ears would not cause hearing loss?  And I doubt he's some poor, uneducated back woods guys, because he owns an iPod - the most expensive (and biggest rip-off) of all mp3 players out there!  He saw an opportunity to make himself a little money and now a giant company as well as most of the market/consumers have to suffer.

This also opens the door for other mp3 player makers to get sued.  Who is next?  Creative?  Dell?  Sony?  They all make mp3 players.  If dippy from Louisiana can make a buck by suing Apple, then why can't little Johnny with his Sony Walkman do the same?  The problem is, he can (this IS America).  So I'm sure this lawsuit against Apple is just the first of many, many more lawsuits against other mp3 player makers.

Looking forward to seeing this mess explode while constantly thinking to myself how much better of a person I am than these people.