Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 1995

Technical Documentation and legal Liability

John M. Caher New York Times

Abstract

Litigation rooted in disputes over the interpretation and sufficiency of technical documentation is increasingly common as a number of suits have been filed in state and federal courts. This article describes the matter of Martin v. Hacker (83 NY2nd 1, Nov. 23, 1993), a recent case in which New York's highest court analyzed a technical writer's prose in the context of a lawsuit over a drug-induced suicide.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
1995-01-01
DOI
10.2190/9xpr-qj5l-pul2-lw9j
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Todd (2014)
    Avoiding Litigation for Product Instructions and Warnings
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Cites in this index (1)

  1. Parsons (1992)
    A Cautionary Legal Tale: The Bose v. Consumers Union Case
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    Developing Intercultural Socioemotional Communication Skills: A Hybrid Student Exchange Project Between Kenya, Ireland, and Germany ↗
    Belinda Oechsler; Yvonne Cleary; Sissi Closs
    multimodality technical communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    What Video Games Can Tell Us About Interactive Technical Communication ↗
    Emily Kuzneski Johnson
    multimodality technical communication multilingual writers
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document Design ↗
    Leslie Seawright; Amy Hodges; Timothy Ponce
    multimodality technical communication disability studies multilingual writers
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    How to Write With GenAI: A Framework for Using Generative AI to Automate Writing Tasks in Technical Communication ↗
    Guiseppe Getto; Susan Kelley; Bremen Vance
    artificial intelligence technical communication multilingual writers
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impact Storytelling Frames Community Health Initiatives for Executive Audiences ↗
    Margaret Hsiao
    qualitative research multimodality technical communication professional writing multilingual writers