Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Elements of strict products liability
Case and Analysis of Product Liability
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Elements of strict products liability
In this age of endless lawsuits and litigation from everyone suing everyone else, one must ask the question “where does product liability end and consumer responsibility begin?” This question has been further complicated by occurrences that stretch to the most far-reaching ends of this spectrum, the spectrum ranging from strict product liability of the company to complete consumer responsibility. On the strict product liability of the company side, we have the cigarette industry where the CEOs of the largest cigarette companies denied that their product was liable for the cause of addiction. Almost all consumers know that the ingredient nicotine in cigarettes is addictive, due to extensive scientific testing and reports on this fact. What these CEO’s should have done was admit that they knew nicotine was addictive, and therefore made their product liable so as to give a fair warning to unknowing consumers. On the complete consumer responsibility side, we can examine the lawsuit where a man sued McDonald’s for over a million dollars because he spilled a cup of their coffee on his self and suffered burns. He claimed that McDonald’s was liable because there was not a warning on the lid that stated that the coffee was hot. In my opinion, this lawsuit should have never happened. The consumer is attempting to alleviate all of the responsibility from himself for spilling his coffee and pass it on to the producer of the product. Frivolous lawsuits such as this, as well as companies failing to consider the importance of product liability, have resulted in an increasing annual product liability bill. Last year alone $4 billion was spent on product liability lawsuits and settlements (McAdams, p.636). This staggering number suggests that maybe we need to reform our liability system. Ideally, we as a society would like to reach a happy medium between strict product liability of the company and complete consumer responsibility. If this occurred, lawsuits such as this would no longer drain our legal systems because an understanding would exist that the responsibility rests equally in both parties’ hands. However, that is an ideal situation, which rarely ever occurs in the real world. In the real world, tradeoffs must be made in order to reach equilibrium. These tradeoffs between strict product liability and consumer responsibility will be discussed in light of the situati...
... middle of paper ...
...g to act, but just a little common sense should tell you that releasing a movie with the content such as Boyz N the Hood and only focusing on its negative themes will send the wrong message, especially in metro areas where crimes and gangs are prevalent.
In an ideal world, consumers and companies would equally share the burdens of product liability and consumer responsibility. However, in the real world, we must make tradeoffs between these two. How we do this will not only affect our legal environment, but our economic and social environments as well.
Works Cited
Anonymous, Industrial Distribution, New York, April 2000, Volume 89, issue 4, p.36.
Brostoff, Steven, National Underwriter, Chicago, September 2000, volume 104, issue 38,
p.2
Eckert, Stephen, Marketing News, Chicago, April 2000, Volume 34, issue 9, p. 49.
Giliberti, Frank, Marketing Management, Chicago, Winter 1999, Volume 8, issue 4, pp.
53-54.
Lamnetti, David, The Business Lawyer, Chicago, February 2000, Volume 55, issue 2, p.
799.
McAdams, Tony, Law, Business, and Society, Irwin/McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001,
Sixth Edition, p. 636.
However prior to the modern understanding of Consumer Rights there was a understanding of Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware –this has been a fundamental premise of consumer wellbeing prior to World War ‖ , relation to transactions, principle that the buyer purchases at his own risk in the absence of an express warranty in the contract . This common law rule assumes that buyers and sellers are in an equal bargaining position. However there has been evident change in consumer rights which have contributed to the precedence of using Caveat Emptor is no longer acceptable, apparent in the case ACCC v Hewlett Packard Australia (HP), illustrated that no longer can a company ...
Even though consumers have great protection rights in Australian Customer Law, they have to understand that this law is designed to provide consumers and sellers a fair go. Therefore, consumers also have to be aware that they will not be protected if they are careless and make unreasonable demands.
...ceived potential for a large payout. Three percent of product liability trials involved toxic substances, including tobacco. Three tobacco product liability trials were disposed of a national sample in 2005. All three of these trials were decided by juries that ruled in favor of the defendants. Toxic substances were linked as 346 of the 354 product liability trials (Cohen, 2009).
The tobacco industry seems like a beneficial addition to our economy. It has basically been a socially acceptable business in the past because it brings jobs to our people and tax money to the government to redistribute; but consider the cost of tobacco related treatment, mortality and disability- it exceeds the benefit to the producer by two hundred billion dollars US. (4) Tobacco is a very profitable industry determined to grow despite government loss or public health. Its history has demonstrated how money can blind morals like an addiction that is never satisfied. Past lawsuits were mostly unsuccessful because the juries blamed the smoker even though the definition of criminal negligence fits the industry’s acts perfectly. Some may argue for the industry in the name of free enterprise but since they have had such a clear understanding of the dangers of their product it changes the understanding of their business tactics and motives. The success of the industry has merely been a reflection of its immoral practices. These practices have been observed through its use of the media in regards to children, the tests that used underage smokers, the use of revenue to avoid the law, the use of nicotine manipulation and the suppression of research.
The question is, who should be held accountable? And what should be done? There is clearly no way tobacco will never be outlawed, but I believe there should be tighter restrictions on age limits throughout the world, and restrictions on the materials that are used in cigarette processing. Who is just letting cigarette companies continue to poison people and cause cancer risk? Throughout my essay, I will analyze the affects of cigarette use on the society of the world and the elaborate corruption that keeps cigarette companies in business.
Now, cigarette ads include labels with warning signs, disturbing pictures of deceased unborn children, children with smoke formed into bags over their heads, people with amputated limbs, or pictures of gum and tooth decay. “Even if, as some enthusiasts claim, e-cigarettes can help a smoker quit, could it also entice young people to start?” (Are e-Cigarettes Safe?). Figure 3 contains an ad of a man smoking on a blu e-cig with the phrase ,“Why Quit? Switch To Blu”. This one ad out of many, surprisingly, contains a now required warning label at the bottom, warning pregnant or potentially pregnant consumers of the chance that their baby or reproductive system may be harmed. What some consumers don 't know, is that the e-cigarette owners are also the owners of the big tobacco cigarette companies. These companies clearly don 't want the smokers to quit smoking, but continue with what is argued as a “healthier”
All in all, Boyz N’ the Hood seems to be the epitome of deviance and social control examples. The whole premise of the movie relies upon it. Through the various theories such as: Differential association, Control-bond theory, Labeling theory, Rational-choice theory, and the Strain theory Boyz N’ the Hood can be seen through a new scope. Certain aspects of the film become more apparent when compared to just watching the film for entertainment.
In this article “Fast Food and Personal Responsibility” (2003) which was written by Ninos P. Malek, Malek tries to argue and show people that it’s not entirely the fast food industries’ fault that people are obese or sick . He argues using 3 different supporting examples; first he says that, “High school students blaming their poor diets on school cafeteria” (Malek, 2003, p.309). Most student tend do that, but actually most cafeterias sell healthy and unhealthy food but people always need something to blame and never hold themselves the responsibility for their own action, secondly he says that no one is putting people under gun point to make them buy fast food (2003, p.309). That’s actually true but still he forgot to mention the fact that they are trying to brain wash people into buying their food through their erroneous advertisements. Third and last Malek tries to compare smoking to fast food, because back then tobacco companies were sued too for almost the same reason which is about health. Malek’s argument was precise because people need to learn to take responsibility for their own actions and should know that when they buy fast food they are weighing their own costs and benefits. But he didn’t show the immoral and unethical things the fast food industries were doing by using erroneous advertisements. The fast food industries shouldn’t be held accountable for this because everyone has a freedom of choice and they can choose whether to eat it or no.
.I believe that the Tobacco industry is unethical, They provide a product that causes addiction and eventual death if smoking continues thought the majority of a person’s life. I think that the tobacco industry needs to take more responsibility for their product. I believe they should do this by not advertising on the false image of being a cigarette smoker and focus on what consumers are actually going to receive for their money when purchasing cigarettes. They should focus on the feeling it gives people, and what the cigarette experience actually is in the most literal terms. Also cigarette companies should tell costumers upfront in easy to read labels the long term and short term effects of smoking to let people clearly know what they are buying and what it’s effects are.
Daynard.R., (2013). Regulatory Approaches to Ending Cigarette-Caused Death and Disease in the United States. Boston University School of Law; American Journal of Law and Medicine.
The hopeful result of the tobacco lawsuits would be that the advertising target market would not be the young. The fact that the Tobacco Companies lose three thousand to five thousand customers each day causes the industry to look for replacements to the lost revenue resources. More then thousand die from using tobacco the rest quit or die of other causes. This reason alone justifies the expense of three to four billion dollars each year on advertising. This leaves little to wonder why the average age of new smokers in the US right now is twelve years of age.
charged with covering up the addictive properties of nicotine and finding ways to exploit it to increase profits. For example, in Wigand’s interview for 60 Minutes, he says that tobacco companies view cigarettes only as a delivery device for nicotine. He also says they take advantage of the addictive properties by manipulating and adj...
Consumers have expectations In terms of a good quality product that should be availed at a reasonable price. Consumers don’t only want the business to be socially responsible towards them in this manner of reasonable prices but way beyond this. They should meet the needs of consumers in ways of convenience and appearance. But business should also consider other aspects like environmental impact when packaging is disposed.
Before we start, I think it's important that you know a little thing about me, and where I'm coming from. I do smoke. But I believe that most of the lawsuits filed against the tobacco industry are unfounded, desperate attempts for people to put the blame on anyone but themselves.
Consumer care: The customer is the most important in all declarations of good business and it should therefore assist consumer protection movements.