TV-OUT on laptop causes major damage, fire / shock

[Jonathan Hutchins]

I hate to say it, given that we all love to express our opinions on these 
matters, but you're talking to the wrong people.

You REALLY, REALLY need to at least talk with a real, honest-to-goodnes, 
listed-in-the-yellow-pages Product Liability Lawyer.

At the minimum, you deserve to have a working laptop, a fixed TV, and a new 
cable.  You've been injured, and you can probably argue quite successfully 
for compensation for that.  Shock and trauma are a little bit more difficult 
to prove, but getting knocked unconcious is pretty clearly not something you 
should expect from a consumer product that's being used correctly.

If you don't talk to a lawyer, what's the worst that could happen?  Well, I 
suppose Dell could say "it was the TV, not the laptop", and you'd be out a 
computer and a TV.  Maybe you're cool with that.  I don't think I would be.

If you do work with a lawyer, he should be willing to do this on a contingency 
basis - his fees come out of any potential settlement.  You may still loose 
the laptop and the TV - they become evidence.  Your expense in replacing 
them, though, becomes part of your claim.

We are not talking about suing someone because the coffee you shouldn't have 
poured in your lap was too hot.  We're talking about serious injury and 
damage from normal use of ordinary consumer appliances.

Think about this:  What if you'd been alone?  What if that fire had caught on 
something else, and kept burning, while you were knocked out on the floor?