While a lighter is safer than a match, the fact does not change the danger that flame poses to the health and safety of people. Any device capable of starting a fire should undergo strict supervision and be manufactured with safety as the foremost concern. The evidence provided by Calles, as well as the admission by Scripto-Tokai that it had been the target of numerous other suits of similar nature, reinforce the assertion. The company’s lighters were not suitable for household use because of the dangers associated with their use.
The negligence that led the company not to incorporate child safety devices into their lighters despite the low cost of such an endeavor led to injury and death. The case was not isolated, as there were numerous other examples of similar situations. Furthermore, the company had access to statistics about fires accidentally started by children and should have drawn the appropriate conclusions from the data. As such, the court should have ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and against the corporation.