Introduction
Product liability as an area of law requires suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors and other individuals who avail products to the public be held responsible for any injuries that such products cause. Even with the broad connotation that the word ‘product’ carries, the concept of product liability is traditionally limited to the products that are in the form of tangible property. This paper will summarize an article on product liability and relate the contents of the article to the text used in class.
Summary of the article
“Economic Effects of Product Liability and Other Litigation Involving the Safety and Effectiveness of Pharmaceuticals”
While alluding to previous studies on the subject, the author notes that opponents of product liability argue that it reduces product availability, discourages innovation, increases prices and undercuts economic efficiency through the encouragement of detailed but ineffective warning signs. They also argue that product liability encourages safety for which the social benefits enjoyed are not commensurate to the social costs. In contrast, the proponents contend that the concept unearths information concerning the hazards of drugs and prevents corporate behavior that is socially undesirable like withholding information from regulating agencies. However, the author notes the absence of evidence suggesting the ubiquitous nature of such effects.
According to Garber (2013) many drug-related injuries, in addition to pharmaceutical mass torts from many claimants, were carried out in the 1990s and onto the 2000s. He also notes that a significant number of litigation against drug companies allege off-label promotion coupled with deceptive marketing. This has significant implications on public policy. For instance, it cannot be adequately determined whether the social benefits of product liability in the pharmaceutical industry supersede the social costs. It is also clear that imposing legal liability on companies that withhold safety-related information from the regulating agencies curtails such failures. It is also imperative that legal liability curbs socially undesirable corporate behavior.
Conclusion
The article has articulated the opposing viewpoints from the opponents and proponents of product liability. To avoid bias, the author alluded to empirical analyses on the pharmaceutical industry. The article also relates the findings from the empirical analysis to public policy. The text analyses the effectiveness of product liability in delivering the legal leash it was intended. The evidence adduced by the article feed into the common knowledge that product liability is an important watch dog for the safety of the consumer despite the manufacturers crying foul. The discussion on the implications of product liability on public policy accentuates the importance of the concept.
References
Garber, S. (2013). Economic Effects of Product Liability and Other Litigation Involving the Safety and Effectiveness of Pharmaceuticals. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/ monographs/MG1259.html#key-findings
