Slashdot Mirror
Amazon Sold Eclipse Glasses That Cause 'Permanent Blindness,' Alleges Lawsuit (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A South Carolina couple claims in a proposed federal class-action lawsuit (PDF) that Amazon sold defective eclipse-watching glasses that partially blinded them during the historic coast-to-coast solar eclipse on August 21. Corey Payne and fiance Kayla Harris say in their lawsuit that because of the eyewear Payne purchased from Amazon, the couple is now suffering from "blurriness, a central blind spot, increased sensitivity, changes in perception of color, and distorted vision." Amazon issued a recall of defective and perhaps counterfeit eclipse eyewear in an e-mail sent out to customers before the event. Payne said he did not receive the message. His suit seeks to represent others who were injured or may be injured from the eyewear purchased on Amazon. The alleged Tennessee-based maker of the glasses, American Paper Optics, is not named in the suit. The suit seeks funds "for medical monitoring" because "Plaintiffs and members of the proposed class have or will experience varying degrees of eye injury ranging from temporary discomfort to permanent blindness." The suit also demands unspecified monetary damages, punitive damages, and legal fees and costs.
I remember back in the day being told that it wasn't safe to look at the sun even with heavily filtered/polarized glasses during an eclipse. Not even welding masks or goggles were safe, and the only safe way to look at an eclipse was via an indirect method like a pinhole projector. Even now I see the warnings suggest that even with "proper" viewing glasses, you really shouldn't expose yourself for more than a few minutes.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
You'd think Amazon of all companies could have kept a close eye on their supply chain for these things
Try buying genuine Duracell batteries on the amazon.com site. I see a lot of comments saying that the batteries are not real Duracell.
didn't you?
...the glasses didn't so much cause permanent blindness as they merely failed to prevent permanent blindness.
-Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
"I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
Can you win a lawsuit with a car company over a fault if they've already sent recall notices?
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
The couple bought some glasses on Amazon for viewing the eclipse. When Amazon found out that the glasses wouldn't be safe for that, they issued a recall. Not only that, but the recall notice was in the NATIONAL NEWS! People I know who don't shop on Amazon, or are interested in the eclipse knew about the recall. ***Why didn't the plaintiffs?***
Summary judgement for the defendant.
I bought a package of the glasses from Amazon (third party was Beemo) and got the email about a week before saying "Don't use them! Amazon has not received confirmation from the supplier of your order that they sourced the item from a recommended manufacturer."
They seemed adequately dark. The sun (from a brief glance) was a dim orange sphere, and nothing else can be seen through them.
I did go ahead and get a pair of the real deal glasses. They had a metallic look to them that the Beemo ones did not, but the sun looked the same through them. I suppose the arguably fake ones might be passing UV that the real ones don't.
Either way, I didn't stare at the sun for minutes through the legit ones, either, just a quick look every now and then.
I suspect some of this may be a paperwork issue rather than a real one, though there were apparently some really bad fakes that I haven't run across.
They should really be suing the Retailer with the Amazon store, but where is the huge pay out there ;)
It will be interesting to see how this turns out! Amazon has a boat load of cash to pay out, but they also could use that boat load of cash to hire armies of the best lawyers in the country.
My take, the "Scum Sucking" lawyers doing this will not win the Law Suit Lottery!!!
Especially since Amazon issued a recall. Of course I get the feeling that Amazon has a smidge more cash than American Paper Optics. I mean, just guessing, of course.
Blindness? Bull! Trump stared directly at the sun without glasses and is perfectly nor.......oh, wait, nevermind.
Table-ized A.I.
Lawyers will always sue the company that has the most money.
The shadows through the leaves are pretty damn cool.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
That KGW video is crap. **Which** brands are effected???
Here is a list of safe glasses:
https://eclipse.aas.org/resour...
* American Paper Optics (Eclipser) / EclipseGlasses.com / 3dglassesonline.com
* APM Telescopes (Sunfilter Glasses)*
* Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold Film)* [see note 1]
* Celestron (EclipSmart Glasses & Viewers)
* DayStar (Solar Glasses)
* Explore Scientific (Solar Eclipse Sun Catcher Glasses)
* Halo Solar Eclipse Spectacles
* Jaxy Optical Instrument Co., Ltd.* [see note 2]
* Lunt Solar Systems (SUNsafe SUNglasses) [see their unique kid-size eclipse glasses]
* Meade Instruments (EclipseView Glasses & Viewers)
* Rainbow Symphony (Eclipse Shades)
* Seymour Solar (Helios Glasses)
* Solar Eclipse International / Cangnan County Qiwei Craft Co.*
* Thousand Oaks Optical (Silver-Black Polymer & SolarLite)
* TSE 17 / 110th.de (Solar Filter Foil)*
--
Man Cave, noun, a place where a man can to play with all his expensive toys. Also see Garage.
Amazon recalled some glasses which they believed to be counterfeit. Amazon has also said that customers who did not receive an email purchased glasses that were safe to use. The plaintiffs did not receive an email. Reading the suit, it doesn't make any claim that counterfeit glasses were received, but rather that they got glasses made by American Paper Optics, a reputable vendor according to the American Astronomical Society.
Further, the plaintiffs claim eye damage, but offer no evidence, not even a claim to have seen an ophthalmologist.
I smell some bloodsucking lawyers and plaintiffs trying to scam a big payoff.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Joey Bada$$ proved it!
From a mile off, using their super awesome powers of the obvious sunglasses, as seen on Amazont.com
I saw about 75% obscured and found it to be compelling. I'm motivated by the experience to trek to the next convenient totality. Perhaps I'll find partials boring afterwards, but for now I'll continue enjoying it in bumpkin mode.
Man, you really need that seminar!
OMG yes, one of the neatest things I've ever seen in my life. That was some years ago. Thanks very much for bringing back the memory.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Most of your brain is dedicated toward processing information from your eyes. Why would you risk it even if they tell you that it is safe?
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
I see what you did there.
Unlike the plaintiffs.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
It's not brightness that's a factor, but the fact that wavelengths of light in the UV spectrum cause damage to cells. The amount of UV radiation given off by the sun is greater than what one would be exposed to while welding, even if the intensity of light in the visible range is greater.
So, the issue with cheap eclipse glasses is that they block most of the visible spectrum, but don't block an appropriate amount of UV, so those wavelengths travel right past your dilated pupils and strike the retina while you stare. Think of what happens when you get a sunburn - UV radiation damages cells in your skin - and imagine the same thing happening to the inside of your eyes.
Thank you
#DeleteFacebook
Where will they spend their money? Their Amazon accounts will be banned.
I bought some of the problem glasses on Amazon. They were very dense gas welding goggles, where what was actually needed would have been a plate from an arc welding mask. Arc welding has a much greatter ultraviolet component. At the time I purchsed them, months before the eclipse, they appeared to be the best things available, and I wanted to stay away from the plastic film glasses if possible. I spent about $150 for three.
Only a day or two before I left on a trip that was to lead to viewing the eclipse in Prairie City, Oregon. Amazon wrote me, asking me not to use the glasses, refunding my purchase, and stating that it would not be necessary to send them back. They are still OK as gas welding glasses, I suspect.
We ended up using the film glasses, and various observing devices with filters or projectors. I made a really nifty solar projector out of a telescope I got from a flea market, which the crowd appreciated. It's a lot easier to see the sunspots when the sun is projected a foot wide.
I viewed the total eclipse using unfiltered Orion 70x15 binoculars on a pantograph mount. I saw everything. The planet mercury, solar prominences, etc. I definitely recommend binoculars.
Bruce Perens.
Lately almost everything sold on amazon is sold by third party and amazon just does warehouse, shipping and billing. a lot of stuff is shipped by the third party as well.
they try to play the game like a common carrier but it won't last for long
Why do you say it won't last long? It's lasted years. You can't buy a real Apple charger on Amazon, 95% of that is fake even though the product description says "made by Apple".
I mean, Apple is the most highly valued company in the world and if they can't take Amazon to task who will?
Bezos controls a newspaper (WaPo). You think the "independent press" is going to fuck with him?
Seriously expect even more of the fake stuff. There's probably stuff you've bought from Amazon that's fake and you don't know it.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
The shadows through the leaves are pretty damn cool.
Had to look this up - here's a quora with the image of crescent shadows:
https://www.quora.com/What-cau...
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I shop on Amazon and I was interested in the eclipse. I sure as hell didn't hear about a recall notice.
I didn't buy any eclipse protecting glasses and I'm not even in the US, and I heard about the recall.
But it is possible, however unlikely, that someone that bought glasses and was emailed by Amazon about the recall did manage to miss that email, miss the media coverage and also be stupid enough to stare at the sun through their shitty glasses.
So I wouldn't want to predict the outcome of this legal action at all.
A family-member bought eclipse glasses for the extended family on Amazon. She bought it from this 100% legit listing: https://www.amazon.com/Soluna-.... When we started seeing the news stories about fake eclipse glasses, we went back to the site and checked the listing, which said they were CE and ISO certified for eclipse viewing. The glasses had the ISO certification printed on them as well.
So we went and viewed the eclipse. I probably only looked at the sun through the glasses 30-60 seconds total, but my kids may have spend longer looking. The next day, I noticed that my vision was blurrier. Since there are several things that historically can impact my vision, I decided to see if it improved in a few days. When it didn't, I double-checked the glasses. That's when I saw the reviews and Q&A on the listing talking about the fakes, and sure enough, the ones we received were fakes from China. We did not receive any email from Amazon
Comparing them to a real certified pair, the fakes let through more light, though not enough to cause me to squint. The fakes don't have that metallic sheen the real ones do, and I wonder if that's the infrared/UV shielding. I went to the eye doctor and they found no signs of solar retinopathy, though admitting that the signs can take a few weeks to show up. I think my kids are too little to accurately report slight vision changes, but the other 2 people who used the fakes didn't seem to have any issues.
What is interesting here in terms of the lawsuit is that on Amazon, even if you are reading details about a legitimate product and looking at a picture of the real product, there's no telling if what you're going to get in the mail is actually that product. In fact, unless you're looking for it, you rarely even know what seller is being automatically chosen when you add something to your cart.
That's likely the angle the litigant is pursuing. Regardless, whether the case goes anywhere, hopefully it focuses more attention on Amazon inventory commingling and counterfeits.
It would have to focus on that; however, as I point out in here Amazon is still likely protected.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
I find it hard to blame amazon in this situation. Someone listed counterfit goods on their site, they discovered it BEFORE anyone was hurt, issued a recall and it was widely publicized to check your glasses. These people stared directly at the sun long enough to cause permanent damage, all the while IGNORING the SEARING PAIN their eyeballs would have felt. What more was Amazon supposed to do? The manufacturer should have some liability here, not the retailer.
While I agree that Amazon is likely protected (see here), the damage is done without any knowledge of it being done, with blindness/pain/etc coming hours to a few days after the fact.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
I'm also not in the US, but I was following the announcements in the run-up to the eclipse, and discussing it with family and friends over there.
I didn't know anything about the sub-standard glasses, or about the recall, until reading about it in El Reg this morning.
Recently, I went on a trip to Portugal for a week; no cellphone service and wifi for an hour each morning and each evening when I was in my rented accommodation. It's easy, even over here in densely populated Europe, to drop off the internet for a seek or two. If I'd decided to go out into a sparsely populated bit of the US to watch an eclipse away from the light pollution of the cities, it would certainly have been easy to miss a recall.
should have read "for a week or two"!
I hope Amazon's legal team absolutely crushes these disgusting people, and bankrupts them of everything they own. I could understand suing the manufacturer and the seller for false claims. That is legitimate. But acting like Amazon should personally inspect and certify every single product sold on its platform is absolutely ridiculous. Honestly, Amazon already goes above and beyond what should be their legal requirements in this area, constantly siding with consumers over sellers, and booting out people who ship more than 1% of defective products, even if it was an accident.
There aren't many instances in which you should side with a giant corporation, but this is certainly one of them!
I bought eclipse glasses on Amazon. If not for reading about their issues *here on Slashdot*, I would have had no idea what was up. They did not ship them, but never said why or even notified me.