Toyota's Possibility System: Imperfection In Liability System

Imperfection in liability system
The products liability system has been criticized on equity, distributive, and efficiency grounds. The equity arguments often express a belief that cases should be inside on the basic afford and negligence. In particular, firm consider it in equitable to be assessed damage when there was nothing that could be done to prevent the injury. Objection had been made to the inability to use state-of-the-art design as a defense in cases governed by strict liability. In the absence of a statute of repose for capital equipment., this means that an injured party may be able to sue successfully for an injury caused by a product manufacturered many years earlier when technological capabilities were more limited. The restatement
The state of Mississippi earned a national reputation for large jury awards to plaintiffs, and many trial lawyers attempted to have their cases tried in that venue. Venue shopping focused on Mississippi’s 22nd Judicial Circuit, which the American Tort Reform Association designated a “Judicial Hellhold”. The governor of Mississippi pushed for state tort reform citing not only the bad reputation the state had earned but also the business opportunities the state had lost. In explaining why Toyota had decided not to build the plant in the state, the company stated that “litigation climax in Mississippi is unfavourable ….” .similarly , the CEO of caterpillar explained why the company was not expanding the operation in the state : “Unfortunately, Mississippi’s current law suit environment makes us where we reluctant to consider expanding our activities in the state.” Mississippi took the first step to work reform by eliminating joint and several liability, reducing the liability of retailers, and capping award for non economic damages at one dollar million except for medical liability, which was capped at
However, liability awards can force firms into bankruptcy or dissuade them from producing certain desirable product. Because a number of pharmaceutical company had stopped producing certain vaccines as a result of liability cost, Congress passes the Childhood Vaccine act of 1986, which established a no-fault compensation system and capped pain and suffering awards. Similarly they might be no nuclear power plants in the united states were it not for the Price-Anderson Act, which limits liability In the case of an accident. Some critics argue that the development of drugs to treat condition associated with pregnancy has been chilled by lawsuits such as those involving Bendectin, a drug used to treat morning sickness. Congenital abnormalities occur naturally in about 3 percent of newborns, and pharmaceutical companies can face lawsuits if a mother used one of their products. As the silicone breast implants example indicates, liability cases can result in large settlements even when there is little scientific evidence linking a product to a