Litigation risk

Parshall, D. R. (1989). Suggestions for Structuring the Product Design and Manufacturing Process to Help Create Safe Products and Reduce Litigation Risk. Hazard Prevention (April/June), 12-17. 

In today s market, factors extraneous to industry fundamentals have been exerting increasing influence on sector performance. The term event risk has traditionally been used to refer to merger and acqnisition (M A) activity, and has been more issuer-specific than affecting the entire sector. However, we take a broad definition of event risk to encompass other external risks, including litigation risk, technological risk, and the like. 

A significant form of event risk is litigation risk. Once considered to be confined to the tobacco sector, litigation risk is now threatening industrial goods firms (asbestos liability) to auto manufacturers (Firestone tyre recall). In the current environment, no sector looks immnne from these types of external shocks. Technological risk affects bnsinesses that carry a substantial exposure to the future direction of technology development. The sectors that are affected consist predominantly of telecom operators and OEM. 

This is a particularly sensitive issue for many teachers, as they will argue that poor facilities are often out of their control and not to use them would further reduce the activities to be offered. Nevertheless they do have a duty to report inadequate facilities to management and to take appropriate action. Given the increase in litigation, risks can be costly and at the end of the day, the teachers have to show that they made a professional judgment based on regular and approved practice. 

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) establishes nationally applicable effluent limitations using criteria based on different levels of control technology. For example, risk assessments were carried out in response to the settlement of litigation asserting a failure to set standards... 

MerlT states that a proactive risk management plan reduces product liability lawsuits, but it can also reduce drug sales "for reasons that turn out to be ephemeral." He warns pharmaceutical companies, however, that being defensive — such as described by Fitzgerald — is extremely risky. "Ongoing product liability litigation can damage a company s bottom... 

Resolution of action items also has a legal dimension. In the US tort litigation system, there is an accepted concept that once management decision makers have knowledge of a hazard, there is an accompanying responsibility and duty to act to address that hazard. US OSHA enforcement representatives also apply the concept of repeat willful, in cases where there has been a previously identified hazard and the risk has not been reasonably mitigated. 

Rich, Bradford W. 1985. Environmental Litigation and the Insurance Dilemma. Risk Management 32 (December) 34-41. 

Product liability Litigation with Risk Aversion. Journal of Legal Studies... 

Unfortunately, "safe" can mean different things to the patient, the physician, and society. Complete absence of risk is impossible to demonstrate, but this fact may not be understood by the public, who frequently assume that any medication sold with the approval of the FDA should be free of serious "side effects." This confusion is a major factor in litigation and dissatisfaction with aspects of drugs and medical care. 

Curran WJ. The DES product liability story in America the third generation litigation. Int J Risk Safety Med 1992 3 229. 

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