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Comment by criddell | Hacker News Reader

Do you think the bomb maker could be held liable if the package were to be opened in a moving car that subsequently crashed because of glitter getting in the driver's eyes? I'd be a little nervous about doing this myself.

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Yes, if you create a hazard and then conceal it and by doing that harm someone else, you're going to be liable --- for the same reason that if you know about a hazard on your property, fail to correct it, post no warning, and it injures a burglar, the burglar will often have a civil claim against you (except here your liability is even clearer, since you deliberately created that hazard).

I would be less worried about the thief's car and more worried about the car the thief runs into.

Just label the box with "DO NOT TAKE IN A CAR"

Right, thief should have read the EULA

Unlikely unless the circumstances are exceptional.

You can sue anyone for anything. That would be a very uphill lawsuit in normal circumstances (the thief is being negligent by trying to open a package in a moving vehicle and any harm is a result of that negligence). When you add in the fact that the package is stolen it's highly unlikely to succeed. However, I write this from a US perspective. If self defense case law is any indication I suspect that the thief may have a case in the UK.

You would have to prove, that you firstly stole the package(then you open a pandoras box of previous crimes), then prove that the person put it in the package(Very hard to prove, like whats the evidence).

At the end you would just end up going to the police confess the crime, open the door to be prosecuted for other crimes. And yet end up proving nothing about the other person from whom you stole.

It would be shooting in the foot at epic proportions.

I was thinking more about civil liability and not necessarily from the thief. Say the thief crashes into pedestrians - the victims families might go after the thief and the bomb maker.

IANAL... but banks use dye packs. This seems very close to that.

A dye pack is designed to protect the cash by rendering it unusable, not to injure or otherwise affect the person stealing it.

Does glitter cause injury?

We're in a universe where yes it did because the package was opened while driving or just happened to spray glitter in the thief's (or potentially a third party not associated directly with the theft) eye.

IANAL, but is that seriously a legal risk? The guy would have to explain he stole it.

Here in the USA, everyone is litigation crazy, so an enterprising lawyer would probably happily file a suit against the maker if someone was injured because of it.

The issue though is since the box is so expensive (4 cell phones, custom boards, etc) stealing it was likely a felony.

So you'd have to admit to a felony to sue or press charges against box maker. Second when committing a felony, in many jurisdiction the felon is automatically on the hook for any further 'bad things' that happen during the crime up to and including deaths. So if the felonious package thief got in an accident while opening a stolen package, it could all fall on them as a matter of statute in many places.

What if I just buy something very stupid that could scare someone but I actually wanted it for myself? Or what if I actually bought the same device in the video but I wanted it for some other use or for checking out how it's made?

Intent matters. If you have a baseball bat in your car along with your glove and cleats, you have a piece of sports equipment. If you step out of your car with the bat and smash a car that cut you off in traffic, it's a weapon.

In the UK, if the police find a bat without a ball or some kind of proof it's for sports, they can consider it an offensive weapon.

Booby traps are illegal and this feels like a booby trap.

https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/booby-traps/

From your link, "A booby trap may be defined as any concealed or camouflaged device designed to cause bodily injury..."

There is nothing about his project designed to cause any bodily injury. This is a very important detail.

If being on your phone is bad, opening a package in a moving vehicle is probably worse

Could be opened by a passenger.

Theif steals package, opens it while driving, crashes into another vehicle or otherwise damages property, life or limb. Maybe the theif has a hard time seeing you, but the other injured parties would likely sue you under the biggest pockets doctrine.

The risk is minimal, you would have to open the box while driving for it to go off.

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