It doesn't make the insurance companies evil, it makes then businessmen.
Ja,
evil businessmen!
One of the weakest areas of our system is liability judgments. Not in principle, but the way it is often applied kinda sucks for both business and the consumer. The only business that benefits from what is currently done is the legal profession.
Someone (or a group of someones) is always responsible, but who gets accused and sued often isn't that someone. Its a different someone, someone against whom the plaintiff(s) think they have a chance of winning in court.
And the effect of this is chilling to industy, all industries. Fear does that.
Somewhere in the dim past (30+ years ago) I saw a show about airplane crashes. it was focused on light planes. They had a segment that has stuck in my memory ever since.
There was an interview with a guy who ran a company that made the magnetos used on light airplane engines, like a Cessna Piper Cub, and many others. He said (as best I can recall), "every time one of those planes crashes, we get sued. Doesn't matter what the cause of the crash was, if our part was in that plane, we get sued. One time the pilot was drunk, and there was half a bottle of whiskey found in the wreckage. We stil got sued. Having to keep lawyers on staff to respond to this increases our cost of doing business."
then he walked over to a shelf in his office, picked up a device, and handed it to the interviewer.
"Do you know what this is?" Interviewer shakes head... "it is an improved magneto design. We came up with it a dozen years ago...."
interviewer nods...
"We DON'T make it. Our lawyers told us not to. They advised us that making an improved version of our product could be construed in court as a
de facto admission that our previous product was defective. And that could lose us a case, resulting in a judgement against us, even if our part was not at fault.... so, we don't make them."
I thought about that for some time. You should, too. It's not just the firearms industry, its ALL industry that is at risk, already, and would be at even greater risk should this suit against Remington go in favor of the plaintiffs.
Advertising has an effect on selling your product. It DOES NOT have an effect on what the purchasers DO with that product. And what the Govt. does about that is yet another matter.
Another example, illustrating Govt response to product misuse...from a few years back.
New energy drink on the market. Bottle label specifically warns against drinking more than one if a 4hr period....some highschool kids go to a college Frat party..where they drink several of these drinks and a lot of alcohol. Several get very sick, one or two actually DIE. Intentional product misuse AND underage drinking.....
The state's response? BAN the sale of the energy drink!
Does that make sense to you?? I never did to me...
