Deck 8: Things Fall Apart: Product Liability and Consumers

Question 1

What are the foundations of liability? What limitations should be placed on liability?

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Explain Thomson's discussion of liability and causation.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

Write a conversation among Modic, Thomson, and Huber on this question: Should we have a national no-fault liability insurance?

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

What is the "fear of living," according to Fairlie? Why is it harmful to American life?

Question 5

Explain Justice Burger's argument that there are "too many lawyers." Offer three responses to him.

Question 6

In your own words, explain Thierer's concern about how the American tort system might slow the spread of self-driving car technology, and explain his proposed solution to this concern. What other kinds of technology might Thierer's concern extend to? Might that concern in the cae of those technologies also be alleviated by a solution like the one Thierer proposes?

Question 7

Argue a case for making skateboards illegal. Now offer three criticisms of your argument.

Question 8

Should products designed for children be more strictly regulated than products for adults? Why or why not?

Question 9

Do some research on the current state of the Merck-Vioxx class action lawsuit. What do you predict will be the future of the lawsuit? What advice would you offer to Merck? To Moll, the law firm representing the plaintiffs?

Question 10

How can we tell who is responsible for an injury or property damage? Should we have general rules about who can be held responsible, or should we handle each case independently, with individual judges and juries deciding? Is it okay if different judges and juries have different opinions?

Question 11

Huber writes that the "safety tax" is responsible for all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Almost one-third the price of a stepladder
B) 45 percent of the cost of an MRI.
C) The majority of the cost of childhood vaccines
D) A quarter of the price of a bus tour in Long Island
E) 33.33 percent of the price of a small airplane.

Question 12

The "safety tax" costs Americans how much each year, according to Huber's article?

A) $35 million
B) $75 million
C) $80 million
D) $4 billion
E) None of the above

Question 13

What is the name of the law of accidents and personal injury?
Smith's law
Liability law
SPC law
Tort law
Safety law

Question 14

What did the old tort theorists conclude was the overriding question that the "old law" asked, in accord with their assumptions regarding it?
How would a party know in what cases it was supposed to insure itself?
How would a party know when it would have to pay uncovered liabilities?
How did the parties agree to allocate the costs of the accident?
How did one know when a customer must be identified as the recipient of the costs?
None of the above

Question 15

What is the "revolution" that Huber mentions?
The French Revolution
A nineteenth-century revolution in economic theory
The "across the board" dismissal of tort law theory
The abandonment of the law of contract
The Smithian revolution of the late eighteenth century

Question 16

What court case allowed subsequent juries to attribute liability to product designers and not just manufacturers?
Brown v. Board of Education
The case of Barbara Evans
The case of William Greenman
The case of David Larsen
None of the above

Question 17

Huber repeats the quip that economists are persons who observe what is happening in practice and go off to study whether it is possible in:

A) Business
B) Mathematics
C) China
D) The real world
E) Theory

Question 18

For a while, Huber argues, the reinterpretation of contract terms sufficed as a basis for inventing liability standards much stricter than:

A) Negligence
B) Contracts
C) Recklessness
D) Gross negligence
E) Torts

Question 19

Huber argues that the recent liability law invention is:

A) Malpractice
B) The tort tax
C) Laziness
D) Carelessness
E) Beneficial

Question 20

All of the following are true EXCEPT:

A) Being killed by lightning is more probable than being killed by bioterrorism involving anthrax.
B) Being killed by a stroke is more likely than committing suicide.
C) Alcohol kills 1 in every 6,210 people.
D) Food poisoning is more likely to kill you than Alzheimer's disease.
E) 1 in 397 will die of heart disease.

Question 21

Roy Anderson believes it is critical to understand that:

A) "You're in good hands with Allstate."
B) Manmade systems, such as tort law and liability insurance, operate in accordance with human beliefs.
C) Tort law is out of touch with "the real people" it is supposed to be helping.
D) The advent of liability insurance changed "things."
E) All of the above

Question 22

Modic claims that the tort system no longer works properly for whom?

A) Tort lawyers
B) All lawyers
C) Individuals "priced outside of the insurance market"
D) Corporations "priced inside the insurance market"
E) None of the above

Question 23

According to Modic, tort law has two purposes, which are:

A) Punishing criminal behavior and compensating those harmed by it
B) Reducing risk and compensating injured people
C) Punishing people who caused injuries and preventing future injuries
D) Compensating injured people and punishing those at fault
E) Compensating injured people and preventing future injuries

Question 24

The "fear of living" that Fairlie talks about is what?

A) Americans are becoming more risk-averse.
B) Corporations and professionals fear being sued.
C) Consumers fear being hurt by defective products.
D) NASA fears there will be another tragedy like the Challenger explosion.
E) Our lives are getting more and more risky over time.

Question 25

What is Fairlie's point about Three Mile Island?

A) It shows the high risk of nuclear power.
B) It shows that nuclear power is efficient and safe.
C) There was no actual disaster, and that made nuclear power seem less risky.
D) There was no actual disaster, but that made nuclear power seem riskier.
E) There should be better inspections of nuclear power facilities.

Question 26

In Justice Burger's article, Walter Olson compares lawyers to what?

A) Sharks
B) Lions
C) Used car dealers
D) Actors
E) None of the above

Question 27

Justice Burger believes that lawyers have changed over the years in what way?

A) Their ethical standards have gone down.
B) Their ethical standards have risen.
C) They are more skilled at litigation.
D) They are less likely to advertise their services.
E) They have come to believe that litigation is a necessary evil.

Question 28

Sandra Gillespie's Pinto did what to cause such a major embarrassment and moral problem for Ford Motor Company?

A) Crushed Sandra when the car was wrecked
B) Covered Sandra with oil from a leak when rear-ended
C) Caught on fire in an accident
D) Slid on the ice when traveling only 15 mph
E) All of the above

Question 29

Who brought cost-benefit analysis to the government?

A) Robert McNamara of Ford Motor Company
B) George H. W. Bush
C) Chief Justice Warren Burger
D) General Mark Dowie
E) None of the above

Question 30

Why does Dowie think that Ford's cost-benefit analysis is a moral problem?

A) It is dishonest and includes lies about the Pinto's safety.
B) It places a dollar value on human life.
C) It shows that Ford made the Pinto unsafe on purpose.
D) It shows that Ford is out to make a profit.
E) None of the above: Dowie does not think Ford was morally wrong.

Question 31

Thomson outlines three things a plaintiff must show in order to win his case. All of the following are discussed EXCEPT:

A) The plaintiff suffered from harm or loss.
B) An act or omission of the defendant caused the harm or loss.
C) The defendant is at fault in so acting or refraining from acting.
D) Both (a) and (c)
E) None of the above

Question 32

Which lawsuit(s) does Thomson NOT discuss?

A) Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories
B) Summers v. Tice
C) Brown v. Board of Education
D) Greenman v. Wendell
E) Both (c) and (d)

Question 33

In the case of the quail hunters, one hunter was accidentally shot, and it was unclear which of the other hunters was responsible. What was the court's decision about who was to blame?

A) No one is responsible, because it was an accident.
B) Both others are responsible, because they were both negligent.
C) Both others are responsible, because they both had motives.
D) Neither one is responsible, because we can't prove which one did it.
E) The gun manufacturer is responsible for the gun's faulty design.

Question 34

What does Thomson mean by "freedom of action"?

A) Freedom to plan the future, make choices, and try to reach goals
B) Freedom to act without fear of being sued
C) Freedom to act without being held responsible for the consequences
D) Freedom from being causally affected by other people's actions
E) Freedom from being harmed by other people's negligent actions

Question 35

Which of the following is not a potential challenge that the growth of driverless car technology faces, according to Adam Thierer?

A) Infrastructure issues
B) Different technical standards
C) Restrictive state licensing policies
D) The costs of research and development
E) Excessive law suits

Question 36

Approximately how many people die every day in the US in car accidents?

A) 10
B) 20
C) 50
D) 90
E) 200

Question 37

Huber argues that tort law has not changed much since the start of the twentieth century.

Question 38

Roy Anderson believes liability insurance to be an organic, naturally occurring system.

Question 39

Modic cites that not many people are even worried about product liability.

Question 40

Tort law and liability insurance "feed" one another, according to Modic.

Question 41

Thomson concerns her argument not with blame, but with who is to pay out of pocket for costs surrounding incidents.

Question 42

In tort law, the concept that the guilty person must be 100 percent at fault is followed unquestioningly.

Question 43

Burger thinks that there are too many lawyers.

Question 44

Burger believes that professionals like lawyers should not advertise.

Question 45

Ford was not aware of the danger posed by the Pinto's fuel tank.

Question 46

Ford's cost-benefit analysis valued a human life at approximately $200,000.

Question 47

In Summers v. Tice, the court determined that both defendants were to be held liable.

Question 48

According to the Eno Center for Transportation, if ten percent of the cars on the road became self-driving cars, that would save 1,000 American lives each year.

Question 49

According to Thierer, the US government should act immediately to make sure that no one ever has the chance to sue the creator of a self-driving car.

Question 50

Huber points out that __________ is "one of the most ubiquitous taxes we pay."

Question 51

Huber refers to the "visionary group of legal theorists" that came along in the 1950s as the __________.

Question 52

A tort refers to a type of __________ wrong.

Question 53

_________ and liability insurance are both systems that are subject to public perception, which is changing constantly, according to Roy R. Anderson.

Question 54

There is a "symbiotic relationship" between car manufacturers and the __________ industry.

Question 55

Fairlie remarks that not every accident is the fault of a business; at times, people are simply the victims of bad __________.

Question 56

A legal fee that you pay only if your case is won is called a(n) __________________ fee.

Question 57

People who have a very low tolerance of risk are called risk-_______________.

Question 58

Dowie notes that "by conservative estimates," the __________ killed more than 500 people in burn deaths before 1977.

Question 59

The Ford Pinto was rushed into production even though Ford engineers discovered that rear-end collisions would rupture the Pinto's __________ system.

Question 60

We normally think that the person who __________ harm to another should be the one who is liable for it.

Question 61

In the case of Summers v. Tice, two quail hunters were found to be liable because they were __________________ toward Summers.

Question 62

Adam Thierer describes a problem the American tort system poses for the growth of driverless car technology, and the solution he proposes for that problem is based on a 1986 act concerning _________.

Question 63

The leading cause of death for people between the ages of 16 and 24 is __________.

Question 64

Many workers who handled _____________ were not informed of the damage it had done to their lungs.