Open Source Ecology Forums

lleveen

Has liability of using (or rather letting one's employees use) OSE designs like the LifeTrac been addressed. A farmer friend wondered about that, relative to other farm equipment that might adhere to specific safety standards.

Thanks.

Danial

I have been wondering this as well. Do the designs of the various machines adhere to any sort of saftey standards? If so which ones, and if not, how could that affect bringing the designs to the public that will have to consider safety standards and liabilities?

surfcam

Maybe you can write experimental on the side of the Life Trac like they do on home built airplanes. Fly or drive at your own risk. I have to carry 5 million liability insurance just to turn a few bolts on a customers equipment.

AJ_Tarnas

For those who are not aware, a five million dollar liability insurance policy might cost between $500 and $5000 per year... so don't be daunted by the "big numbers". Insurance is annoying in a "litigious society" like the US, but it's doable in any normal revenue-generating business. As a general contractor this tends to mean that 1 to 5 jobs per year covers insurance, out of a total of 20 to 100 jobs. Tool-lending libraries and outdoor adventure groups tend to both carry medical/injury policies in the $1k-$10k/year, or $1-$5/transaction range, and have customers sign a release of liability at each transaction.

I hope the OSE folks will actually get a good lawyer and make public their liability/legal procedures for others to emulate, now that they have plenty of cash with which to do this basic footwork!

:r]

surfcam

Your right about the insurance. I pay $1500 for the 5 mil. I'm not aloud to use a torch at that rate. I'm far from an expert on liability but I have run into the odd case over the years. I would seem to me that since its an off road vehicle. There are fewer hoops to go through than anything that's on road. If the parts where sold as a kit I would think a lot of the liability would be transferred to the assembler. I think a person should use certified hoses, bolts, and fittings. Most have UL, SAE, CSA etc. already. The thing that I think might be worth looking into is the front end loader. It comes under the category of lifting aid like chain falls and the like. It may have to be engineered and stamped. A maximum load can be determent and printed on it. I would be niece if we had an open source lawyer just to look in to some of these liabilities. I would hate see to this movement getting a bunch of road blocks because of this. I wouldn't put it passed a manufactures of similar equipment to get the regulators involved and cause problems.

Mike_Apostol

I've been trying to get this looked at for months now. If you have any resources or contacts PLEASE take advantage of them. It's something that really needs to be looked into, and it's not a simple matter. There are multiple aspects of this that need to be understood in-depth by someone who actually understands how the legal structure works in these situations.

AJ_Tarnas

Definitely don't have an answer. I'm sure the Springfield Remanufacturing folks do!

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