LIABILITY OF answerer's in this forum?

Question

In this yahoo Questions and Answer forum if some answerer gives some wrong or half wrong information or advise; and if asker or some reader gets some harm because of that answer.....will that answerer be liable to get punished or to pay damages for that harm?

Answer 1

What the Yahoo community guild line say & otherwise too as any person who reply any question is not getting any monetary gain or deliver of any property from the questioner, he or she is not liable for any offence of cheating even if his or her advice was used by the questioner in real situation & got harmed. Only thing here I would like to add if any professional is giving reply to any question concerning his or her profession it should be replied with correct information regarding it otherwise any wrong information or incorrect information will be highly immoral & against his or her professional ethics, no where it is laid that a profession should answer all or any question regarding his or her profession but if he or she do so he or she should mind his professional ethics, this is my personal opinion as a legal profession myself.

Answer 2

I have seen some of the answers therefore I wish to clarify some points.

Some of our answerers have said that if the service is free of charge then nobody can be held resposible for any miscarriage or damage. This notion is utter misconception.

Supposing someone(company) enters the market with a new product claiming it to be the best in a certain area and markets the same initially by supplying the same for free of cost. And an individual suffers damage of whatsoever nature doesn't he have a right to prosecute the company according to the circumstances either under the criminal law or under the civil law for damages and compensation. Yes surely he has.

It is the same with the doctor who advises a prescription to his patient free of cost and the patient suffers some problem. Dont you think the patient has a case against the Doctor. Yes surely he has a strong case of negligence. What if the advise was free of cost.

The distinction is not whether the service (advise) or product was free or was available for a price. The distinction lies in the fact whether the person delivering is qualified to issue such an advise or service and whether he bonafidely believes that his advise is likely to be taken by public with sincerity and apply the same. It is the same with a product.

I think this should answer your question.

Here in this forum we dont claim ourselves to be experts in the corresponding field and nothing is there to prove against the person advising a case.

We have lot number of channels shedding invariable advices in various fields. Business, fashion, Cooking, politics, education, career options and many other fields. But they have a disclaimer clause and caution the viewers from taking the advise or opinion at their own risk. It is ultimately the discretion of the viewer which is important and material. Likewise there is a disclaimer clause in the Yahoo Policy.

I hope there is nothing wrong in my opinion. And it is not unlikely that some of the answerers or you may find something wrong with this answer. There is bound to be an alternative where we are debating an issue by posing our querries and opinions.

Refer to the Yahoo Policy guidelines.

Answer 3

You weren't paying attention when you signed on to Yahoo!Answers. You need to read (or re-read) the Terms of Service and the Community Guidelines.

The site is like a multiple choice question. You ask a question and you get multiple choices (answers) to choose from.

There are a lot of variables in the question and the answer. Sometimes the questioner does not give all the information necessary to actually give the full scope of the question and the people who answer do so from the small bit of information given.

Most life and death questions should be asked of a professional not Yahoo!Answers and many of the respondents do mention that their answers are from their experience or tell you to seek professional help (lawyers, doctors, therapists, etc.).

In the end you choose (or don't choose) what you plan to do, not the answerer. The responsibility is yours, especially if you don't give all the information required in the question.

Answer 4

No. There is nothing on here that is forcing you to take the advice of strangers.

Although I'm sure most people mean well and have good intentions, people who do not know what they are talking about should refrain from supplying information that is not valid.

If you are reading about an issue and you would like to answer the question, do your research...know what you are saying. If you don't know, either don't answer or just say that you don't know. Or you can supply a link to a website that may provide the information the person is looking for.

I often look to the CDC website and the JEMS website.

Answer 5

I haven't figured out why this is even here. I know it is illegal to give legal advice without being a lawyer. Yet some answers clearly are. I am pretty sure that is in all 50 states. Some answers I have read are clearly legal advice while some are not some is clearly a felony even if meant as a joke.
I have to say no to your question. No one made anyone follow what was said in some answer, and asking strangers on the Internet should only give ideas to consult with attorneys, police or for reference for pro se litigants

Answer 6

This is a forum for opinion's,not a "DeFacto" advisory site! The answer's that contributors provide is a "take it or leave it" position! Some answerer's do legitimately know what they are talking about,some however do not. No one here is forcing you to accept their Opinion's as "Fact" if we did,we'de all have written and signed contract's for contributing to this site...wouldn't We? The purpose of this Site is so that we can share "Idea's" and "Viewpoint's" and it is entirely up to you to "decide" their worth or application to you-after all...you are asking the Question,or giving an Answer! You seem to have little faith in the Common Sense of the Common People! You only need to review the answer's,and basically figure out...what the majority of Answerer's are implying largely...in order to determine what is generally True or False. No one is putting a gun to the head of the reader,and no one is forcing your acceptance...of their opinion! Your suggestion...wouldn't "gel" enough to hold water in a Court of Law! So my simple answer to that question is...Not!

Answer 7

Anyone can sue anyone for anything at anytime. That is the plain truth. If you were to portray yourself as having qualifications that you do not or intentionally gave misleading information you would be leaving yourself open to a lawsuit if the recipient were to track you down.

You will notice that the top answerers in these forums give a disclaimer in their profile. I do.


By the way, that's just my opinion and is not necessarily the opinion of Yahoo Answers and its subsidiaries. If may not even be my opinion.

Answer 8

Well, if someone tells you to rob a bank and you do it, then somebody has a problem. The rules of this forum are clear - and are not legal or medical advice. Just friendly answers from people who've been there. But, at the same time, you shouldn't be giving bad or illegal advice on purpose.

Answer 9

If someone told you to jump off a bridge to solve all your problems, would you? My answer would be NO. I ask alot of questions I know the answers to . I like reading what other people think. But the decisions I make are mine. Always!

Answer 10

You'd have to come up with some theory of liability. What would it be?

Contract? No, since there is no contract but merely the proffer of gratuitous advice.

Tort? You first have to find a duty of care. Where would that come from?

True, you can sue anyone for anything but you wouldn't survive the first motion for dismissal for failure to state a claim.