law and opportunities for improvement Flashcards
what is the story of the pinto and the rebecca?
The Pinto and The Story of Rebecca
• Dinky Ford car with gas next to exposed bolts – ruptured tank = explosion
• Seat belts invented to save lives, but people were first reluctant to use
• Rebecca was a girl rendered paraplegic from a car accident
• 1953 Airbags patented
• In 1972, gov’t mandated that airbags be included in cars – but manufacturers refused
• Congress and President wouldn’t force this upon manufacturers, so fell upon Judicial Branch
o Lots of plaintiffs from car accidents would sue manufacturers
o Use of litigation as public health tool, can transfer cost of injuries to manufacturers, who are best in position to fix/reduce severity of injuries - invest in prevention instead of using money for fixing afterwards
o Eventually 1.1 billion in litigations, so Ford started offering airbags
• Lesson: SUE THE BASTARDS!
o Litigation a great group to convince – not seeking re-election and no special interests
what was the tory of the beretta and Ross?
- 12 year old boy let off school early
- Gets his father’s gun, pulls out magazine but accidentally shoots friend
- No safety mechanisms used in gun
- Litigation: Beretta sued for not adding safety conditions to their guns
- But one can also pay out a confidential settlement, so others never know the terms of the settlement
spicy buffalo chicken melt?
• Salt
o Americans have lots of high blood pressure and hypertension which leads to strokes and heart attacks (exacerbated by sodium intake)
o While recommended dose is 2300 mgs, some restaurants exceed this in one dish
• Cheeseburger Bills
o Some states pass laws saying can’t sue fast food chains claiming “food made me fat”
o Senate then tried to pass bills to give gun manufacturers immunity too
• Lawsuits
o Generally, one has been able to prove duty, breach of duty and causation of damage
o Potential difficulties with food litigation:
• Can the responsible defendant be easily identified?
• Can causation be readily proven?
o Pinto
• Clear causation, clear defendant
o 2 people shoot shotguns at quail and hit friend
• Unclear whose shot hit the friend so both held responsible
• Clear causation, unclear defendant
o Vaccines
• If you got GBs while the GBS was during the 2x baseline rate, you likely got it from vaccine
• Hard to prove causation, easy to ID a defendant
o Food:
• Hard to prove causation, hard to ID a defendant
