Video games, product liability and compensation claims

As video games grow more popular, they are more likely to feature in legal situations, including the area of product liability. There are two main areas in which a compensation claim such as this could occur, involving software and hardware.

Product liability claims involving software
Software refers to the games that could be played on a console themselves, and most manufacturers of games attempt to protect themselves against potential compensation claims by printing warnings in the instruction booklets that give warnings regarding epileptic episodes. However, this did not prevent an American woman from launching a faulty product compensation claim in 2007 on this basis.

(The Epilepsy Action website gives advice on avoiding such seizures.)

Some video games now also come with warnings that remind you when you have been playing for a long time, encouraging a player to have a rest (or go to bed, depending on the time). This is perhaps to avoid a case where someone wants to sue for the game having kept the player engaged for long enough to develop RSI.

Hardware claims
Hardware refers to the boxes and appliances that make up the physical parts of a console. If a controller were to be designed so as to make RSI more likely, or a wiring fault were to lead to players receiving electric shocks, this could be grounds to begin a compensation claim.

Nintendo's Wii, with its motion-sensing controller, was faced with potential claims over the wrist-restraint being attached by too narrow a connector, but have replaced the strap with a newer, thicker model to prevent these.

Finding a product liability specialist in the UK with YouClaim
If you have suffered personal injury as a result of a faulty product, whether it's as high-technology as an X-box or low as a ladder, the experts at YouClaim may well be able to help you lead a compensation claim to its most positive resolution.

Our personal injury panel, all governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, includes specialists with years of experience in product liability law, all willing to handle such a case on a completely free basis, whether you win or lose.

Further to a no win, no fee agreement, we also guarantee that you will receive 100 percent compensation, whatever a judge awards you, without any cut taken by us. Our fee in a won case will be charged to the losing side, and we will shield you from other costs, leaving the claim without charge to you.

Call us to discuss the details of your product liability claim on 0800 10 757 95. Alternatively, use our online services - our online chat window will connect you to an advisor through this website, and our claim form will let you give us a time to call you back. We look forward to hearing from you.