While the US legal system is subject to a lot of frivolous lawsuits, product liablilty is often the only thing keeping companies on the straight and narrow. We have already seen lots of correspondence in this newsgroup about justifying agency approvals, the use of safety standards, or other costs of implementing safety practices. Some only understand the financial risk to a company or the criminal prosecution of intentional neglegence. An example of lack of legal responsibility and the problems it creates is currently showing up in the US about health maintenance organizations who refuse treatment on a variety of disputed grounds since they cannot be sued for their decisions. This lack of liability is a major issue in the current medical insurance legislation making its way through congress. Keep in mind that for many of us the liability risk rather than the moral imperative is what motivates our companies to employ us. Hopefully the legal decisions will primarily be judgements of reason and propriety rather than law and greed.
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