Looking to enhance your machine safety and risk assessment knowledge? Join our live, online training class!
Reducing Risk, Protecting People

Product Liability and Your Labels: An Expert Opinion

Posted by Clarion Safety Systems | 14th Nov 2022

Throughout the year, our team at Clarion Safety Systems likes to provide updates and clear guidance to our audience on the latest product safety and labeling best practices. Recently, at the start of November, we released an article through our ‘On Your Mark’ column in InCompliance Magazine that provides insight on Product Liability and Your Safety Labels. It examine the importance of adequate labels and the formatting options available for different audiences – from a product liability perspective.

ANSI/ISO Safety Label Format Options
There are two core labeling standards to follow to create effective warnings that accurately communicate hazard information: ANSI Z535.4 domestically and ISO 3864-2 internationally. The current versions of these standards, as of 2022, allow manufacturers to use a variety of different label format options, including:

  • Symbol-only Labels
  • Symbol and Text Labels
  • Text-Only ANSI Labels
  • Wordless Labels
  • Multilingual Labels

Deciding the best fit for your intended audience isn’t always easy. Understanding the product liability and legal landscape can help you to have a better understanding of the right options to pursue.

Product Liability and Your Safety Labels
For a deeper understanding, we turning to one of our product consulting experts, Cal Burnton, a trial attorney with 30 years of experience in product/machinery safety, product liability, and complex litigation. Cal helped to answer common questions and pain points related to optimized safety and evidence-based labeling trends. Those topics include:

  • The importance of warnings and product safety labels in modern liability lawsuits
  • Trending topics in liability lawsuits that include inadequate warnings
  • How ANSI Z535 and ISO 3864-2 hold up in a U.S court of law
  • How important the use of symbols are in liability lawsuits
  • A legal perspective on ‘symbol only’ and ‘wordless’ labeling formats

For more information, read the full article and interview with Cal.

Clarion Safety’s Commitment to You
Over the years, our team at Clarion Safety Systems has worked hard on developing our educational resources and services to better serve the safety community – and we remain committed to providing fresh updates and news on a regular basis.

Here are a few of the resources available to you:

  • Access a library of our recent InCompliance Magazine articles by visiting our “In the News” section of the website.
  • Visit our online Safety Resources with up-to-date articles and guides, related to both machine and workplace safety
  • For additional information on the ANSI Z535.4 and ISO 3864-2 and safety label format options, download our complimentary e-guide, recently created and addressing the latest updates for 2022!

If you have any questions about safety standards/regulations and best practices for product safety, reach out to our team today!

Online Quote Request Options

Need a quote for our sign, label and tag products? Our customer service team is standing by to hear from you via phone, online chat or email! For your convenience, we also have two options you can use to submit your request quickly and easily online:

Option 1: Cart-to-quote Tool

Generate a quote for all of the items in your shopping cart. Simply add items to your online shopping cart and then click the "Get Quote for Cart Items" button in the cart preview dropdown or at the bottom of the cart page.

This option works great for both standard and custom products that are available for purchase on our website.


Option 2: Quote Request Form

Request a quote by typing in the product part number(s) or a description of the custom part(s). You can also upload RFQ-related documentation, such as a drawings and specification sheets.

This option works great for products not available for purchase on our website and for complex quotes.