In today's litigation environment manufacturers must systematically manage their product liability risks. This requires that product managers and corporate decision-makers take as much interest in managing the company's product liability as they do in their initiatives to increase shareholder value. They simply cannot sit back and criticize the system while relying on past practices and antiquated legal principles. That's a recipe for disaster. Corporate executives must understand that shareholder value means little if the company is forced into bankruptcy by product litigation. Society today demands more from manufacturers than it did just a few decades ago. A systematic approach to managing product liability risks, therefore, begins with an appreciation of the legal principles under which products are judged, and an acceptance of the fact that the rules will continue to change to meet consumer expectations. Corporate managers cannot be surprised by the civil justice system. They must understand the system and design and distribute products that conform to its requirements. In this book the authors provide corporate managers with a comprehensive look at current and developing trends in product liability law and offers practical suggestions on how to minimize the risks of litigation as product liability law continues to expand. Co-authored by David H. Canter, Partner, Harrington Foxx Dubrow & Canter Llp, and J. Wilson McCallister, this book provides unique insight into the exposure of a corporation to product liability litigation and offers the benefit of the authors' experience to managing this risk. This book offers unique insights from in-house to outside counsel, producing advice that is workable from both sides of the practice. J. Wilson McCallister was with Deere & Company in its law department for 25 years. As Associate General Counsel, he managed Deere's product litigation, early dispute resolution program and special litigation throughout the United States. David Canter, a senior partner at the Los Angeles firm of Harrington, Foxx, Dubrow & Canter has defended corporations in products liability litigation for 40 years. He has defended corporations in litigation in 17 state and federal courts and thus has gained wide nationwide experience. Chapters include: 1.) Product Liability: The Legal Context and Trends2.) A Systematic Approach to Managing Product Liability Exposure and Litigation3.) A First Step: Designing to Reduce Product Accidents and Injuries4.) The Importance of Proper Selection and Use of Expert Witnesses5.) Striving To Be the Best Pays Off6.) The Effective Use of Legal Counsel7.) Early Claims Resolution Makes Sense: A Strategy8.) Alternate Dispute Resolution is Cost Effective: A Strategy9.) Document Retention Policy: How to Stay Out of Trouble with the Courts and Juries10.) The Trial: It's Non-Controllable Risks and Possible Wins and Losses

Product liability is a contentious issue. Proponents argue that American tort law promotes product safety. Manufacturers contend that lawsuits chill new product development. Product Liability and Innovation provides an overview and an engineering perspective on the product liability system. The volume offers studies of selected industries, exploring the effect of product liability on corporate product development decisions and on the creative opportunities and day-to-day work of engineers. The volume addresses the potential liability of the parts or materials supplier and discusses the impact of liability on the availability of insurance. It looks at "junk science" in the courtroom and analyzes opportunities to incorporate into product design what we know about human behavior and risk. The book also looks at current efforts at tort reform and compares U.S. injury claims handling with that of other countries. This volume will be important to policymakers, industrialists, attorneys, product engineers, and individuals concerned about the impact of product liability on the industrial future.

This book takes a look at fully automated, autonomous vehicles and discusses many open questions: How can autonomous vehicles be integrated into the current transportation system with diverse users and human drivers? Where do automated vehicles fall under current legal frameworks? What risks are associated with automation and how will society respond to these risks? How will the marketplace react to automated vehicles and what changes may be necessary for companies? Experts from Germany and the United States define key societal, engineering, and mobility issues related to the automation of vehicles. They discuss the decisions programmers of automated vehicles must make to enable vehicles to perceive their environment, interact with other road users, and choose actions that may have ethical consequences. The authors further identify expectations and concerns that will form the basis for individual and societal acceptance of autonomous driving. While the safety benefits of such vehicles are tremendous, the authors demonstrate that these benefits will only be achieved if vehicles have an appropriate safety concept at the heart of their design. Realizing the potential of automated vehicles to reorganize traffic and transform mobility of people and goods requires similar care in the design of vehicles and networks. By covering all of these topics, the book aims to provide a current, comprehensive, and scientifically sound treatment of the emerging field of “autonomous driving".

This synthesis will be of interest to state Department of Transportation (DOT) engineers, legal counsel, researchers, and administrators; transportation product development engineers, equipment manufacturers, and engineering and product manufacturer associations; state, regional, and federal product testing and evaluation centers; and attorneys of law interested in tort liability as it applies to highway innovations. The synthesis describes the current state of the practice for managing product liability to achieve highway innovations. Information for the synthesis was collected by surveying and interviewing state transportation agencies and private transportation related organizations and by conducting a literature search. This report of the Transportation Research Board identifies and discusses specific tort and product liability problems and principles, the specific tort liability experience of public agencies in state DOTs, and the tort liability experience of private organizations involved in introducing new products to the highway market. In addition, details on the litigation risks of highway innovation, the perceptions and perspectives of public agency and private sector personnel, and the state-of-the-art methods to confront litigation risks are presented. Finally, methodological comparisons and a general tort and product liability overview are included in the appendices.

This book sets out the current law in the UK and provides practical advice on methods of reducing the risk of marketing a defective product, of defending claims when they arise and of effective risk management.