The Detroit News reported on 17 August 2012 that installers of appliances have no legal duty to warn homeowners about observed safety hazards. The case involved installers of an electric dryer. While installing said dryer in the home of a Clinton Township (Michigan) resident, the installers observed an uncapped natural gas line. Some time later, the home owner opened a gas valve supplying the uncapped line. An explosion resulted, severely injuring the homeowner and her children.
In a 4 to 3 ruling, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the appliance installers had no legal duty to warn the homeowner about the danger. The court apparently did not comment on the installer's moral or ethical duty to warn the homeowner. Nonetheless, the appliance installer could have avoided a lawsuit, and done the morally correct thing, by putting in place a policy that any uncapped natural gas lines be capped when installing an appliance.
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