The hot pepper linked to teen’s death can cause arteries in the brain to spasm.

  • If such a reaction is remote, yet foreseeable to the manufacturer, the severity of the reaction (death) dictates a warning. It is a known, material risk, and the burden of warning is outweighedby the severity of the harm.

    There’s no warning on the package that it could result in death. The maker could be sued in products liability for negligent failure to warn.

    There was a good case in Mass. against Tylenol. One possible reaction of Tylenol is that your skin could melt and fall off (not even really exaggerating). Very remote possibility, but so, so severe. Manufacture knew it was possible, didn’t warn because it was so remote. But such a serious injury makes the risk material to a consumer, and so there’s a duty to warn.

    • 9point6@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      So I think this is the problem, the packaging says only for adults (these kids were obviously not adults), not for those sensitive to spicy food or with allergies to what I can assume are the main ingredients.

      I know disclaimers are a bit woolly as to what can stand up in court, but what more should they have put:

      • Perhaps something like “this food may cause severe gastrointestinal distress or internal bleeding, which may contribute to pulmonary distress, which in some cases may lead to heart attack, stroke, or death.”

        • wahming@monyet.cc
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          1 year ago

          There’s currently no reason to think any of that happened. Cause of death - unknown.

          • Is this one of those same anti-science, know-nothing takes like those that were too dumb to understand how COVID positive patients that died of heart attacks were legitimate counted as dying from COVID?

            Have you ever eaten anything spicy? Did it not provoke an instantaneous physiological response? Sweating? Urinary urgency? Tachycardia? Tachypnea? Erythema?

            Capsaicin is neurotoxic, a sufficient dose will kill you. In a sensitive person, or person with pre-existing conditions, a hot chip can definitely be the thing that overwhelms a person. Maybe the chip was the straw that broke the camel’s back, in law and medicine, that’s causal.

            • wahming@monyet.cc
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              1 year ago

              Drop the ad hominem attacks.

              a sufficient dose will kill you

              Yes, a sufficient dose of anything generally does. What’s your point? The fact that millions of other people eat spicy foods at these levels and survive would indicate that no, this is not about the dose in general.

              Have you ever eaten anything spicy?

              I’m Asian. We inhale spicy food. No, I don’t recall Asians dying of eating something spicy. If they were sensitive (read: allergic), that’s on them to know their own allergies. We don’t blame peanut butter because people die after eating it.

            • PickTheStick@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              o.O You had to scientifically blather about every other condition, but couldn’t use diaphoresis? For shame, little dude.