# Shutting down of Blitz USA (Gasoline Can Manufacturer): Tort Hell or Justice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 7, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730 "2012-08-07T13:43:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/61 "2012-08-10T18:58:40Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > I also dispute your assertion that anyone who pours gas on a fire is a stupid person that deserves to burn. Why don’t you start a thread based on that. It should be fun. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/62 "2012-08-10T23:17:03Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > They made a product that they knew was being used dangerously. They knew a simple modification of their product could prevent these injuries. We don’t know all the other facts, but there is enough to show them at least somewhat culpable for the injuries. the “simple modification” had nothing to do with the case presented. The flashback insert serves a different purpose. It is designed for cans left open AND exposed to an ignition source AND under specific conditions where aging gasoline creates a volatile vapor. The flame front travels down the arrester where the heat is rapidly dissipated to the point it is no longer hot enough to ignite. According to this [paper](http://www.forensic-society.org/whitepapers/GasCanPaperSFES.pdf) (PDF alert) the insert used in Blitz cans functions as an arrester even though the company refers to it as a filter. It’s a good read if you want to understand the background. What was described in the lawsuit was a person pouring gasoline on a fire which is a different scenario entirely. An arrester is designed to stop a single event where vapor is ignited and IMO the pouring of gasoline from the container creates a continuous source of fuel and heat that would ignite the container’s contents regardless of the presence of an arrester. > [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > I also dispute your assertion that anyone who pours gas on a fire is a stupid person that deserves to burn. I dispute your dispute. Pouring gasoline on a fire is knowingly stupid. It’s a deliberate risk that cannot be assuaged by any safety device. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/63 "2012-08-11T02:27:33Z")
> [@ExcitedIdiot](#): > > They made a product that they knew was being used dangerously. And phone manufacturers know that a certain percentage of the population will use them while driving. This is _entirely_ the fault of the people driving unsafely, not the manufacturers who failed to curtail their self-destructive behaviour. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/64 "2012-08-11T03:05:03Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > And phone manufacturers know that a certain percentage of the population will use them while driving. This is _entirely_ the fault of the people driving unsafely, not the manufacturers who failed to curtail their self-destructive behaviour. When the technology becomes cheap enough and prevalent enough to restrict people from operating the devices while driving, phone companies will probably see an increase in tort claims. As it becomes clear that they made conscious decisions to not incorporate a safety feature in the name of higher profits you’ll see them losing more and more cases. The thing here is Blitz isn’t the only company that makes gas cans. The other companies that make gas cans are incorporating better safety features. They are not filing for bankruptcy to avoid liability. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/65 "2012-08-11T06:42:01Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > The thing here is Blitz isn’t the only company that makes gas cans. The other companies that make gas cans are incorporating better safety features. They are not filing for bankruptcy to avoid liability. Why is that? If you read the paper I cited you’ll understand the nature of the lawsuit. Blitz was apparently a large supplier of containers. They incorporated a device that acted as an arrester. It wasn’t designed to stop all misuse of the product nor is there anyway to accomplish this. Other manufactures will succumb to the same type of lawsuits as they present themselves. An analogy of the lawsuit would be a car with airbags driven into a wall at 100 mph. It’s not possible for a manufacturer to build a product to withstand willful misuse of it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/66 "2012-08-11T14:12:02Z")
> [@LinusK](#): > > No. But I don’t doubt that it would have prevented flames from entering the container. It would doubtlessly also slow the flow of gasoline out of the can. Most people would either remove the flow constrictor or poke a larger hole through it. I use small gas containers every day in my business. The last gas can I bought had a spring-loaded thing at the end of the spout which had to be held back in order for gas to flow. It was difficult to use, and while using it I spilled more gas in a day than I did in a week using the old simple design. After 2 weeks I cut off the overly complicated end of the spout and put a cork from a wine bottle in it. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/67 "2012-08-11T16:40:10Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > After 2 weeks I cut off the overly complicated end of the spout and put a cork from a wine bottle in it. Problem solved. That may spell the beginning of the end of the American cork manufacturing industry:) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/68 "2012-08-11T17:12:16Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > That may spell the beginning of the end of the American cork manufacturing industry:) Oddly, I know of 2 people who did the exact same thing. Maybe there’s a lawsuit in the making of a company that should have known people would disable the safety device and therefore they should have made a second safety device to back up the first one. repeat as needed until a gas can resembles a nuclear power plant and costs as much. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/69 "2012-08-11T19:56:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Oddly, I know of 2 people who did the exact same thing. Maybe there’s a lawsuit in the making of a company that should have known people would disable the safety device and therefore they should have made a second safety device to back up the first one. repeat as needed until a gas can resembles a nuclear power plant and costs as much. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/70 "2012-08-11T20:03:37Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > That may spell the beginning of the end of the American cork manufacturing industry:) It was from a bottle of California wine. Mr. Duality buys American if possible. Nearly all [cork](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_%28material%29) comes from SW Europe and NW Africa though. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/71 "2012-08-11T20:26:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Did you know if you hoist a refrigerator up in the air and drop it on your head you could get hurt? And they don’t even have warning labels for that! Wile E. Coyote: I rest my case, your honor. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/72 "2012-08-11T20:27:10Z")
I’m curious if the gas had any sort of warning label on it. Doesn’t it make more sense for lawyers to go after a company like Exxon that makes billions of dollars every year? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/73 "2012-08-11T20:31:55Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I’m curious if the gas had any sort of warning label on it. Doesn’t it make more sense for lawyers to go after a company like Exxon that makes billions of dollars every year? Perhaps. Because what we really need is non-flammable gas. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/74 "2012-08-14T00:20:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > There should be a name for this type of outrage-maybe something with “McDonald’s” and/or “Coffee” in it. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I’d need to see some real facts to make that equivalence. The facts can be found [here](http://www.stellaawards.com/). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/75 "2012-08-14T01:24:16Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > The facts can be found [here](http://www.stellaawards.com/). Are you being serious? ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/76 "2012-08-14T01:29:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Are you being serious? Quite. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/77 "2012-08-14T01:56:18Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Quite. Would you mind pointing out where it mentions anything about the Blitz case? That is the one in question here. The facts about the MacDonalds case are well known. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/78 "2012-08-14T16:11:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Would you mind pointing out where it mentions anything about the Blitz case? That is the one in question here. The facts about the MacDonalds case are well known. That’s what I assumed the question I was answering was about. If you will notice, the first post I quoted _was_ mentioning the MD case. The second one seemed to be asking for info about same. So I provided a link I knew about and could easily find. I know nothing about the Blitz case, or where to find the info, so I wasn’t addressing that case. If I assumed wrong, then “oh well, sorry”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/79 "2012-08-14T16:40:17Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > That’s what I assumed the question I was answering was about. If you will notice, the first post I quoted _was_ mentioning the MD case. The second one seemed to be asking for info about same. So I provided a link I knew about and could easily find. I know nothing about the Blitz case, or where to find the info, so I wasn’t addressing that case. If I assumed wrong, then “oh well, sorry”. Ok, np. The point was a comparison between McDs and Blitz. The McD case is well documented. Simple searches only show biased sources for Blitz. There are similarities in the cases, but enough differences (maybe, since the details are still scarce) that the two cases may not show the same problems with tort law. But they both highlight tort law problems. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shutting-down-of-blitz-usa-gasoline-can-manufacturer-tort-hell-or-justice/630730/80 "2012-08-14T16:56:23Z")
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