Prohibitive cost of product liability protection
Nature
The producer, importer or supplier of a product passes on to the consumer the high cost of protecting himself against litigation for damage cause by a defective product. Legal costs include insurance and fees for lawyers. In the USA, awards by courts for injury has risen at an exorbitant rate. Defensive measures increase the cost of a product. Additional and unnecessary medical tests might be conducted to protect against medical malpractice suits. Industries may be made internationally uncompetitive because of these increased costs.
Claim
There is a theory of product liability in which the misuse of a product, even when it is not defective, becomes the pretext for a damage claim. Items manufactured in compliance with every safety law, accompanied by careful warnings against misuse, nonetheless become subjects of litigation.
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Value
Reference
SDG
Metadata
- Commerce » Purchasing, supplying
- Industry » Products
- Societal problems » Protection