Why do we have product liability anyway? Doesnt it slow down business? Doesnt it cut down on the profits of businesses? Isnt business the thing that makes the world go around? Yes; to all of the above.

The reason we products liability is to protect the consumer. Today is the age of ever-growing corporate America. Where the main purpose of the corporation is to make their shareholders money. Without restrictions, standards, and laws, some of those corporations would put making money ahead of everything else; including human life. You dont believe me, do you? Do you think everyone is above that? You think that no-one would make a product knowing it could cause severe injuries or even death to people who bought it just to make a buck. Read on:

It was 1971. Ford Motor Company was to introduce the Ford Pinto to compete with the Volkswagen. Ford knew they had design problems with the placement of the gas tank on the Pinto. They also knew that if the Pinto was hit from behind the gas tank would rupture, spilling gas, and causing the car to explode into flames. In fact, they did a crash test on the car and hit it from behind with an object going only 21 mph. Upon impact, the gas tank was punctured, gas flew into the passenger compartment, and the car immediately burst into flames.

At that point, the issue for Ford was: Should they fix the car before they put it into production? And if so, how much would it cost? They decided to do a cost/benefit analysis. For those of you who dont know what that is, its a simple economic equation: If it costs more to do the project then the benefit you are to receive from the project, then its not worth doing the project. So Ford looked at the cost of fixing the design problem with the gas tank ($11. Thats not a typo. ELEVEN DOLLARS!) per car, versus how much they would lose in lawsuits from people who burned to death in crashes. They concluded that it was more expensive to fix the car than to pay out the lawsuits; so they chose NOT to fix the car.

Mrs. Lilly Gray and her husband purchased a brand new Ford Pinto in the fall of 1971. In May of 1972, Mrs. Lilly Gray was driving the Ford Pinto along with her 13-year-old passenger, Richard Grimshaw. She was hit from behind. They estimated the speed of the vehicle that hit her to be around 28 mph. Upon impact, the gas tank on her Ford Pinto ruptured spilling gas into the passenger compartment and burst into flames. She and her 13-year-old passenger were immediate engulfed in fire. They were both severely burned. Their clothes were burned completely off of their bodies. Mrs. Lilly Gray died of the burns. Her 13-year-old passenger hung on to his life through heroic medical measures. He would go through reconstructive surgery for the next 10 years and be emotionally and physically scarred for the rest of his life.

For $11.

1. What is your opinion of the Ford Pinto incident in my Products Liability Lecture?
2. Why do you think we have product liability laws?