Deadly Products Costing The American Public To Much Money

In a study entitled The Social Costs of Dangerous Products: An Empirical Investigation, American University’s Washington College of Law, and the American Association for Justice confirmed the belief that dangerous products are costing the American public a lot of money. Basically, the research compares compensation awarded in the tort system to the actual costs created by hazardous products and concludes after restitution awarded through the tort system is less than the actual costs created by the dangerous products themselves.

Using three known dangerous products as case studies: the Ford SUV’s with Firestone tires, the pharmaceutical drug Baycol manufactured by Bayer, and all terrain vehicles, or ATVs, Professors Sidney Shapiro of Wake Forest School of Law, Ruth Ruttenberg of National Labor College, and Paul Leigh of the University of California at Davis conclude that these three products alone created nearly $4.7 billion in medical costs, lost wages, and other costs, excluding the cost of pain and suffering or and other extended costs.

In comparison, the research also found that compensation awarded in the tort system is less than the actual costs created by the dangerous products themselves. That supports the proposition that “the tort system provides a valuable service for society to the extent it successfully deters the sale of dangerous products,” according to Shapiro.

The costs of these products will either be paid for by the injured person and their families , society through burdens shifted to the taxpayer, by each business as they lose the injured workers, or by the company that created the product. The tort system is the best way to make those at fault companies responsible.