John Ryan McLaughlin story is incredibly unfortunate. McLaughlin was a Navy pilot flying F-18s - a dream job for many people - but had his status revoked after having a gran mal seizure with enough force to break one of his bones. Gran mal (aka tonic-clonic) seizures cause loss of consciousness and extreme contractions of muscles, and are commonly associated with epilepsy.

McLaughlin asserts that it was his first seizure and that it was caused by the game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which "exceeded the upper acceptable limit of more than 3 flashes over a 1 second period."

McLaughlin's lawsuit seeks damages from Bethesda Softworks for negligence, breach of warranty, and product liability as a result of the "defective and dangerous condition of the product."

Perhaps McLaughlin should have read the "Important Health Warning About Playing Video Games" that adorns the first page of the game manual, and states:

"A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that may appear in video games. Even people who have no history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition that can cause 'photosensitive epileptic seizures' while watching video games."