Q

The BULAW5914 course to Learn how to independently research a particular aspect of the law

Home, - BULAW5914 course

BULAW5914 course

Introduction

Compliance with laws, rules and regulations is highly significant in order to ensure proper health and safety of people involved. This study presents a detailed review of various legislations and legal infractions leading to legal issues. The situations taken into account are the case of fires and physical injuries due to defective Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smart phones and a case of drunk driving. The various issues and preferable course of actions have also been presented in detail within the study. Developing proper understanding regarding these issues can help to prevent future legal issues and ensure better health and safety of people.

Question 1: Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Identification of legal issues

The Samsung galaxy series is considered as a benchmark phone series that provides products both in higher end and lower end price points. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 started bursting out in flames unexpectedly which contributed to increased health problems. Due to these incidents, Samsung lost trust of their customers and experienced a decrease in sales and profits. The unexpected explosion of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 indicates that proper quality tests were not carried out by the organisation. The product quality, therefore, violated the terms of the ISO 9000 certification. As opined by Castka et al. (2015), the ISO 9000 certification deals with ensuring that products developed by a brand are of high quality and does contribute to the harm of consumers. Additionally, the increase in health and safety related problems due to the explosions indicate that the Samsung brand was not compliant with the terms of the Consumer Product Safety Laws and the Sale of Goods Act 1954.

Based on the case scenario, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was developed as a successor to Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and had high market reach and sales. However, as stated by Janeczko (2017), it was found that there was a manufacturing defect which contributed to the overheating of batteries. Some of the overheating phones exploded into flames, contributing to health problems and severe injuries. This indicates that the Samsung brand did not conduct the necessary post-production tests in order to evaluate various problems and prevent them from causing harm to consumers.

One such incident occurred in Australia in the year 2017 as one of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone burst into flames in a hotel room while connected to the wall socket for charging. The user also stated that both original Samsung chargers and adapters were used in order to prevent this exact issue. The user tried to contain the fire as he tried to cover it with his bed sheet and also by throwing it on the ground (News, 2018). This in turn burned the bed sheet as well as the carpet on the floor. The user lodged a complaint to Samsung which contributed to a full replacement due to the issues faced in the hotel. Additionally, the hotel billed him with $1800 which was covered by the Samsung brand.

After replacement of the phone and Samsung assured that these issues occur very rarely. However, more of these incidents in various parts of the world contributed to fear issues. Based on various surveys conducted, the users stated that they were still shaken by what happened and would refuse to use Samsung further on (Theaustralian, 2018). No clear information was provided in regards to the reason due to which the batteries of the phones were exploding. However, Samsung took necessary actions, recalled all the phones and fully compensated their customers (News, 2018). Their research and development team admitted that the fault was from their side and they would keep on working on their failure so that one day they can win back the trust of the customer that they lost (Theaustralian, 2018). Therefore, it can be stated that, the Samsung brand is highly understanding of the predicament faced by customers. Additionally, it can be stated that the negligence of Samsung contributed to these issues. Therefore, the Tort of Negligence can be invoked by customers of the Samsung brand that experienced loss of life, property or health problems.

Legislations

Sale of Goods Act 1954

The Sale of Goods Act of 1954 deals with selling high quality products that are compliant with various quality certifications. Ensuring that products are compliant with the ISO 9000 or 9001 certifications can have contribute to proper health and safety of consumers. The sale of goods act ensures that products sold within the market does not contribute to customer harm. Both buyers and sellers need to comply with the terms of the Sale of Goods Act of 1954 in order to prevent legal issues (Legislation, 2018). The roles of sellers include conducting quality control tests and evaluating the health impacts in case of product failures. On the other hand, buyers need to ensure proper maintenance of the products in order to prevent health and safety concerns.

Australian Consumer Law

The Australian Consumer Law deals with the rights of consumers in ensuring proper sustainability and lifestyle conditions. Based on the Consumer Law, customers facing health issues due to the use of various products need to be provided with proper healthcare and safety methods (Consumerlaw, 2018). Damage to property and health due to the utilisation of products are highly subjectable to the tort law. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) deals with the following factors:

?             Providing reports of various goods and services that can be associated with death, serious injury, paralysis and severe illness.

?             Ensures the provision of warranties against defects and repair notices

?             Evaluates unsolicited consumer agreements to identify threats to health of the customers.

Australian Charter of Health Rights

The Australian Charter of health rights deals with ensuring legal compliances and reinforcing the rights of people that require health and safety methods. These safety rights of people include the provision of healthcare regardless of differences in gender, age, race, cultures and ethnicity (Oho, 2018). The charter applies to all Native Australians with citizenships. The charter also ensures that the personal information of people involved in various fatalities and accidents will be protected. Additionally, the charter allows people of various groups to participate in decisions that contribute to better care and comfort.

Consumer product safety regulations and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993

The Consumer product safety regulations and Consumer Guarantees Act of 1993 deal with the provision of consumer guarantees, sales practices and methods to avoid unfair business practices. As stated by Sims (2016), consumer guarantees include the responsibilities of manufacturers and importers in case of problems with goods and services. These responsibilities include providing refunds and replacements of products with manufacturing defects and harmful impacts on consumers. Sales practices include the agreements of consumers, telemarketing consent of customers, proof of transactions, itemized bills, referral selling and harassment issues (Consumerlaw, 2018). Evaluating these factors can help to ensure proper lifestyle conditions and mindsets of consumers. Evaluating issues with misleading or deceptive conduct, unconscionable conduct and false or misleading representations can also lead to better mindset development and safety of consumers.

Tort Law

The tort law deals with providing legal support to harmful issues faced by a person or entity or commit any kind of harm to another entity. Tort Law ensures that the harmed person is provided with the necessary remedy for all the damages that have been done. This law can also be utilised in order to take legal actions against the person involved in the process of causing damage to a certain person (Lawcouncil, 2018). However, this law does not deal with contract infraction issues. This law is heavily influenced in Australia by the common law due to the high colonial heritage. The provision of Tort Law works alongside the utilisation of the Civil Liabilities Act of 2002. The Civil Liabilities Act of 2002 states that Tort can only be utilised once for a certain issue (Austlii, 2018). However, multiple issues occurring due to a single problem are applicable for multiple torts.

Possible damages and defences

The primary damages that have occurred due to the explosion of Samsung smart phones include health and safety infractions for customers. The possible damages that may have occurred due to the explosion of Samsung Galaxy brand smart phones are as follows:

Property Damage: The explosion of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 can have significant impacts on the destruction of properties and assets. These properties and assets include various furniture items at homes and quality equipments at workplaces. Based on the current case scenario, Jane’s BMW car experienced heavy damage due to the issues. The Tort Law of damage to Personal property can be utilised in order to ensure defence and deal with these problems. The Tort Law of damage can ensure that Jane can receive full support from the government due to the destruction of her car.

Personal Injury: The explosion of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 can lead to increased health problems and can have significant impacts on the health and safety of customers. Based on the current case scenario, Jane experienced significant burns on her hands due to the overheating phone. Additionally, the explosion may have also caused significant negative effects on the health conditions of Jane and contributed to injuries. Therefore, the Tort Law of Physical Injury can be utilised in order to ensure defence against the issues. Additionally, the Tort Law of Physical Injury can be beneficial in providing injured victims with monetary values and compensations for their issues.

Preferable course of action

The preferable course of action for Jane is to contact Samsung the provide information regarding the issue faced by her. This can contribute to a replacement or the provision of reimbursements from Samsung in order to deal with the problems. Additionally, she can request for the enactment of the Tort of Negligence in order to receive additional reimbursements. The imposition of this tort can lead to legal issues for Samsung, thus leading to better quality management in the future. Additionally, she can also request for the enactment of the Tort Law of personal injury and property damage in order to receive support from the Australian government.

Question 2: Drinking and Driving

Identification of legal issues

Based on the case scenario, Alan requested his friend Steven to provide a lift at night. Both of them were highly drunk which contributed to negligent driving. Therefore, it can be stated that both of them violated the terms of the drink driving regulations of Australia. The drink driving regulations state that people operating vehicles with BAC (Blood Alcohol Concentration) of 0.05 are penalised for drinking and driving (Police, 2018). Additionally, both Alan and Steven were hospitalised due to a collision with a stationary truck. Steven was charged with criminal offense due to drink driving whereas charges were dropped for Alan. Steven suffered a fractured leg whereas Alan suffered a serious head and spine injury. Alan was therefore unable to return to his role as a computer technician and blames Steven. Therefore, it can be stated that Alan can request for the imposition of tort of negligence by Steven. On the other hand, Alan can also request for the tort of personal injury in order to receive support from the Australian government.

Legislations

Tort of Negligence

The tort of negligence deals with the provision of government support and reimbursements due to negligence from the people involved. The tort of negligence is applicable in case a person is unable to ensure the health and safety of another person (Lawcouncil, 2018). Based on the case scenario, the negligence of Steven contributed to the accident which led to Alan’s harm. Additionally, Alan is unable to work in his usual role as a computer technician which contributes to criminality issues.

Negligence and Duty of Care

Based on the Negligence and Duty of Care regulations, negligence deals with the failure in doing what a reasonable person would have done in a certain circumstance. The negligence and duty of care regulations deal with the provision of monetary aid and compensation for a victim of negligence issues (Hobartlegal, 2018). These compensations are provided based on the following situations:

?             Defendant owes the victim a duty of care

?             Defendant breached the duty of care

?             Personal injury or property damage due to the breach

Drunken Driving regulations of Australia

Based on the drunken driving regulations of Australia, drivers under the influence of alcohol are charged with criminal offenses and penalties. The maximum alcohol limit is stated as 0.05 BAC (Police, 2018). Based on the current scenario, Steven was charged with criminal offences due to the drink driving issues.

Analysis of likeliness of action success

Based on the current scenario, Alan blames Steven for his negligence and wants to sue him. It can be stated that, Alan will be able to successfully impose various legal infractions such as drinking and driving, rash driving, negligence of health and safety precautions and blatant disregard for the healthcare rights. However, as per Levine et al. (2016), Alan can only apply for high values based on the tort law if he can prove his own innocence. Proving his lack of involvement in the negligence issue can contribute to the prevention of legal problems. Additionally, the tort law can have limited impact on the criminal proceedings of Steven’s negligence. As stated by Wright (2017), the tort law ensures compliance with legal rights, safety principles and human rights. However, this law does not have an effect on criminality issues and a person can receive tort and criminality trials at the same time.

Preferable course of action

The most preferable course of action that Alan can undertake includes the imposition of the Tort Law of negligence. Utilising the tort law of negligence can allow Alan to collect the necessary monetary values and compensations. The compensations will be fairly high due to the significant life threatening damage faced by Alan. The imposition of the Negligence and Duty of care can also be effective in charging Steven with criminal charges. Therefore, Steven will face a large number of criminal charges and have to provide monetary benefits for Alan. Additionally, Alan can opt for more reimbursements based on the Civil Liability Act of 2003. Based on this act, it can be stated that,                 Steven is liable to provide reimbursement for Alan. Moreover, the criminals are not provided with reimbursements and damages. Thus, Steven himself is not presented with reimbursements for his negligence. Additionally, Alan can impose the tort of personal injury in order to gain higher amounts of monetary aid.

Conclusion

Based on the above study, it can be concluded that, Samsung was highly negligent in the launch of the Galaxy Note 7. The brand was highly non-compliant with the terms of the ISO 9000 quality standards and the Sale of Goods Act of 1954. The brand also violated Australian consumer laws and the Consumer Guarantees Act of 1993. On the other hand, drinking and driving is considered a prime offence in Australia. A maximum of 0.05 BAC is allowed and people drinking are driving are charged with various penalties. Therefore, the tort of negligence can be imposed in order to deal with the problems.

Leave a comment


Captcha

Related :-