I'm not sure about my attitude to this. I generally hate lawsuits over every little thing that wrong in somebody's life. Lawyers are a leech on society. And I definately don't want lawsuits to affect our free access to crags.

However I can completely understand somebody's anger over the alien issue. Especially if an alien failure pernamently injured you where you'll may never climb again and will face permanent dissability.

CCH has consistantly responded very slowly and poorly to quality issues that customers have had. In my eyes they were negligent.

That said I'd hate to see costs go up our trusted brands affected by things like this.

Lawyers are a leech on society.

Well...this is the game we choose to play in & no matter were you climb or the equipment you buy there is always a warning like,"Climbing is dangerous ,allways back up your equipment,competent instruction is recommended and so on...."you climb at your own risk !
Seems pretty straight forward to me , hey but what would I know ? I have been climbing since 1972 ! Rope gives,tools break, rock falls apart, hunters mistake you for game and so on!

Until you need one.

I want to know who sued, my money is on that kid who had a "ground fall" at the Red... there is a thread about the fall and the failed alien cam

Well...this is the game we choose to play in & no matter were you climb or the equipment you buy there is always a warning like,"Climbing is dangerous ,allways back up your equipment,competent instruction is recommended and so on...."you climb at your own risk !
Seems pretty straight forward to me , hey but what would I know ? I have been climbing since 1972 ! Rope gives,tools break, rock falls apart, hunters mistake you for game and so on!

So if you bought a rope new from a reputable manufacturer and it broke under body weight load without any sharp edges you would have an issue!??

This kind of behavior is the reason our "freedoms" have been eroded away in this country. People are no longer willing to take responsibility for their own actions, and we all pay with our way of life.

Climbing is an inherently dangerous endeavour, and that understanding by its participants is what keeps it alive. Unfortunately, when people decide that they're entitled to be compensated for getting hurt while conciously putting themselves in danger, it makes news and costs everyone money, whether they end up collecting or not. This is why personal injury attorneys are everywhere. These situations play themselves out daily and when the dust settles, the only ones getting rich are the attorneys. The rest of us pay for this stuff, whether it's through increased prices for goods or increased insurance premiums.

So CCH recognizes that they may have an issue with cam failure. They issue a recall. That's what any responsible business does. Are they negligent because some cams allegedly failed? It depends on so many things that it's not worth getting into, but what about the climber's negligence?

If I'm at my limit, and I have one piece of gear between myself and sweet release, I have a choice as a leader to make. If I choose to go commando and blow the move, the gear may fail, the rock may fail, my retarded ass may have put my beloved alien in wrong... the list goes on and on. I made the choice to knowingly climb above gear that could potentially fail. That's my responsibility and it should end there, even if I'm now relearning how to eat with a spoon at the age of 28 due to the choice I made.

If litigation like this is supported by any member of the climbing community, we're letting the outsiders in. We're opening ourselves up to overpriced gear, area closures, and the common bickering and bullshit that we generally have to put up with from all of the other idiots we go to the mountains to get away from.

I'll be god damned if I'm gonna have to carry personal liability insurance to belay my friends, or get signed waivers if someone is going to climb on my rope and fall on my green alien. Some asshole may try to sue the owner of (insert your favorite crag here). Where the fuck are you going this weekend? The gym?

If you can't take responsibility for your own actions and the consequences of doing something that is "inherently dangerous", and you can't accept the fact that lightning can and will strike, no matter how "safe" you feel, then go find another sport, like golf. Don't ruin climbing for me.

If you can't take responsibility for your own actions

Herein lies the problem. I'd be the last to sue but.....If I properly place an alien but deck because the cam fell apart, they SHOULD be sued. I paid good money for a device that they CERTIFY will hold a certain load, it sure better!

Climbing is dangerous enough without having to wonder if your gear is going to spontaneously fall apart under minimal loads. We use good judgment to keep ourselves safe, but the underlying assumption is that our gear WILL perform as the manufacturer claims.

There is no guarantee that any of your gear will hold when you fall on it. The guarantees you do have are thus:

- The manufacturer has applied the quality control standards they say they have applied
- The manufacturer has done everything they have said to ensure that your gear does hold

Third, and this is more speculation, I'd guess that that firm already has one client in hand, and are looking for more people injured in alien failure accidents, so that they can get a class action going and get the fees from everyone as part of a settlemenet award.