claiming against importer.

ThumbRemote

There are three seperate issues here:

1) Who is legally responsbible? This is probably whoever you paid.

2) Can you make a claim against them? Yes, you almost certainly can. But you'd have to prove that the product was faulty.

3) Were they within their rights to dispose of the helicopter? Probably, as you accepted a replacement.

Realistically, you need to talk to a solicitor about whether you have a strong enough case for a personal injury claim.

cindychops

Another point to consider is that the importer has stopped selling the helicopter in the U.K.,after the injury i googled the heli in question and there are alot of reported problems.
My solicitor needs to see the report that states what was tested to come to the conclusion that it was'nt faulty,the onlt thing that was unbroken was the airframe as the blades had been ripped off as the feathering shaft had snapped/fractured(this is a solid tube of metal that holds both blades in the rotor head)the ones that i have seen before all had a bit of flex to them but this one was cast metal so fractured:(

sarahg1969

So, you are already in discussion with a solicitor? You need to take advice from them, in that case.

System

cindychops wrote: »

Ythe 2.4ghz tx is binded to each individual helicopter so interference was not an issue.

Not neccessarily correct. As has been pointed out, 2.4GHz is an unlicenced band and absolutely anything can interfere, even your phone if bluetooth is switched on. It only needs one small signal to trigger the servo.

cindychops

!!!!!! wrote: »

Not neccessarily correct. As has been pointed out, 2.4GHz is an unlicenced band and absolutely anything can interfere, even your phone if bluetooth is switched on. It only needs one small signal to trigger the servo.

sorry what i meant to say that no mobile phones were on at the time but even if they had been it should not have made the heli spin up full speed the way it did.

Chimpofdoom

cindychops wrote: »

sorry what i meant to say that no mobile phones were on at the time but even if they had been it should not have made the heli spin up full speed the way it did.

doesn't necessarily have to be a mobile phone. Could of been anything!

Radio's, mobile phones, Radar systems, (unlikely on the radar front, but they can operate at that frequency). As it's unlicensed, you'll never know.

As has been said before, a solicitor will tell you how strong a case you have, but from my perspective, without that original heli, you'll have a hard time proving that the fault lies with it, and it wasn't user error (regardless of what other people on the web say, seriously, if you google anything, you'll get complaints about it)

bod1467

Disconnect the power on the heli BEFORE turning off the Tx? Seriously?

Utter BS (IMHO). Disabling the Tx first would have NO DAMAGING EFFECT on the heli. How could it? Common sense dictates that you disable any control source prior to disabling the power supply to/on a device.

What you stated is akin to switching off the ring main circuit breaker before turning off a TV. Nobody would seriously suggest this was the right thing to do, so I cannot see how having your hands anywhere near the heli whilst the Tx was on was a sensible idea.

Note: I'm not into R/C devices, so I cannot say for sure that what I've said above is correct. But it sure as heck seems sensible. Perhaps what you did was "normal practice", but that doesn't make it right.

cindychops

bod1467 wrote: »

Disconnect the power on the heli BEFORE turning off the Tx? Seriously?

Utter BS (IMHO). Disabling the Tx first would have NO DAMAGING EFFECT on the heli. How could it? Common sense dictates that you disable any control source prior to disabling the power supply to/on a device.

What you stated is akin to switching off the ring main circuit breaker before turning off a TV. Nobody would seriously suggest this was the right thing to do, so I cannot see how having your hands anywhere near the heli whilst the Tx was on was a sensible idea.

Note: I'm not into R/C devices, so I cannot say for sure that what I've said above is correct. But it sure as heck seems sensible. Perhaps what you did was "normal practice", but that doesn't make it right.

Shutdown Procedures
When you land
1. Pull the throttle/collective all the way down and wait until the blades stop spinning. You can
help slow the blades down by pushing the right stick forward and to the right while the
throttle/collective is down.
2. Unplug the motor battery first. That alleviates any major safety issues that could arise. A
radio glitch could accidentally cause a main blade strike to the knee or knuckle. If you do get hit
by a moving blade, it’s probably your own fault, but that's why you have the first aid kit. By the
way, getting hit by a moving propeller in the R/C world is called "prop bite" and is a common
term used across the hobby.
3. Turn off the receiver battery, and then turn off the transmitter.
4. Make sure you take the time to complete these steps in the right order. Also, take the time to
put the Transmitter antenna down carefully. Pull the antenna down from the middle not the
top. These are easily breakable and are often tripped over when set down while fully extended.
Just ask someone at the local flying field or in your lab.
the above is standard procedure for any battery helicopter,how does the heli know what to do if the tx is turned off?if the battery is unplugged first then whatever your inputs on the tx will have no effect as the heli is dead.so not really BS.

shaun_from_Africa

if the battery is unplugged first then whatever your inputs on the tx will have no effect as the heli is dead.so not really BS.

But surely if you unplug the battery first without turning off the transmitter, there is still a chance that the transmitter could malfunction or someone could accidently knock one of the controls.

If this was to happen when you were disconnecting the battery on the helicopter, the blades could start rotating before you had a chance to disconnect it.

I totally agree with bod.
Switching off the transmitter before going anywhere near the helicopter must be the sensible way to do it.

Your point number 2 even stated this.

2. Unplug the motor battery first. That alleviates any major safety issues that could arise. A radio glitch could accidentally cause a main blade strike to the knee or knuckle. If you do get hit

There is far more chance of a radio glitch if the transmitter is still powered on.

bod1467

cindychops wrote: »

If you do get hit by a moving blade, it’s probably your own fault, but that's why you have the first aid kit.

:rotfl: In these litigious, HS&E-mad days that sounds like a calling-card for Claims-R-Us. :rotfl: