So if you're driving your car and the brakes fail, it's operator error? I would think if you hit the gas instead of the brakes, that would be operator error.
yep, if you don't know the condition of your vehicle, its your fault. When is the last time brakes failed on your car? I happen to know that I have 12,000 miles of wear on my 4 wheel disc brake vehicle. I normally get 25 to 30K on a set of brakes because I don't use them all that often. I employ the gear box to slow the car in most situations as I leave sufficient following distance to keep from laying on the brakes. It is the drivers responsibility to insure the vehicle is in condition to drive on our roads.
The reality is that there is not enough information in this article to justify any conclusions as to the merits of this particular lawsuit. It therefore acts as a projective test on what stereotypes readers have of the key actors. It appears that the Freepers have a somewhat more negative assessment of the motives and ethics of lawyers like Gary Brewer than they do a parent like Mrs. Burton, young boys who ride their sister's bikes like Eric Burton, large retailers like Walmart, and manaufacturers like Pacific Cycle and the Dorel Juvenile Group. You on the other hand appear to have a stereotypic view that the facts in a lawsuit are likely to be true.
My guess is that Judge Alito would be a bit more circumspect. Senators Kennedy and Schumer, of course, would advocate awarding the little boy triple damages because he is a little boy and was injured in someway - and besides Walmart deliberately sold a bike with faulty brakes and besides is just too big to deserve any consideration. But there again I am doing the stereotyping bit.