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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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PRODUCT LIABILITY AND INNOVATION

Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment

Janet R. Hunziker and Trevor O. Jones, Editors

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1994

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20418

NOTICE: The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievement of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

This publication has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a National Academy of Engineering report review process. The interpretations and conclusions expressed in this volume are those of the authors and are not presented as the views of the council, officers, or staff of the National Academy of Engineering.

Partial funding for the activity that led to this publication was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and by Aetna Life and Casualty Company. Primary support was provided by the National Academy of Engineering Fund.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Product liability and innovation: managing risk in an uncertain  environment / Janet R. Hunziker and Trevor O. Jones, editors. 

p. cm. 

Includes bibliographical references and index. 

ISBN 0-309-05130-4

1. Technological innovations. 2. Product liability. 3. Risk management. I. Hunziker, Janet R., 1952– . II. Jones, Trevor O.,  1930– .

T173.8.P7253 1994

658.5'6—dc20 94-32031

CIP

Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Steering Committee on Product Liability and Innovation

TREVOR O. JONES (Chair), Chairman of the Board, Retired,

Libbey-Owens-Ford Company

P. L. THIBAUT BRIAN, Retired Vice President,

Engineering, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

BENJAMIN A. COSGROVE, Retired Senior Vice President,

Boeing Commercial Airplane Group

JAMES GILLIN, Retired President,

MSD Agvet, Division, Merck & Co., Inc.

ALEXANDER MACLACHLAN, Retired Senior Vice President,

Research and Development, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company

BRUCE E. PETERMAN, Senior Vice President,

Aircraft Development, Cessna Aircraft Company

JEROME G. RIVARD, President,

Global Technology and Business Development

ROBERT J. SCHULTZ, Retired Vice Chairman,

General Motors Corporation

JANET R. HUNZIKER, NAE Program Officer

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Preface

At first glance, the realms of product liability law and the corporate research and development process seem worlds apart. Yet since the mid-to late-1980s, we had been hearing from our members, distinguished engineers from various fields, that it would be useful for the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to explore the issue of product liability impacts on innovation. Product liability law is the realm of attorneys, but the effects of product liability law on the innovation process and especially on engineering development are of significant concern to engineers. The Academy has sought to bring to light the engineering consequences of liability law, by eliciting the views and experiences of engineers and others who have been deeply involved in the issue.

Formulating an activity to look at an issue where opinion tends to gather at the ends of the spectrum was not an easy task. On one end are those who point to record expenditures on R&D in some industries, noting that product liability obviously has not had an impact on investments in the process that leads to innovative products. On the other end are those who witness the reallocation of research dollars and the demise of complete product lines, attributing it mainly to the costs of the product liability system.

One of the first things the steering committee planning this activity recognized was that in many cases, the unpredictability of the system was a major problem for companies. Thus, the approach the committee decided to take was to look at how companies in some industries manage the risks and uncertainty inherent in designing, producing, and commercializing products and processes, given current trends in product liability law. The

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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emphasis would be on best practice, with a particular focus on the perspectives and experiences of engineers. A symposium, "Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment," was organized and held September 20–21, 1993, in Washington, D.C., to examine these issues.

This volume is based on that symposium. The authors from industry provide insights into how the product liability system is affecting engineering functions as well as broader corporate practices. As these cases illustrate, just as impacts vary by industry, so too do the strategies for dealing with the product liability environment. The volume also gives perspectives on issues such as the efficiency of the product liability system, whether there is a causal effect between product liability law and safety innovations, what the legal and regulatory systems communicate about safety to product designers, the admission of scientific and technical evidence in the courtroom, and how knowledge of behavioral factors could be incorporated into product design to reduce risk.

I would like to thank Trevor Jones, who chaired the symposium and the Steering Committee on Product Liability and Innovation, and Janet Hunziker, the principal staff officer for the project, for their efforts in organizing the symposium and in the publication of this volume. Also, on behalf of the National Academy of Engineering, I would like to thank the committee members (listed on page iii) and the authors who participated in the symposium and submitted papers for this volume. A special note of appreciation goes to Robert Rines, chairman of the board of Franklin Pierce Law Center, for his summary of the proceedings at the symposium. Bruce Guile, director of the NAE Program Office, provided valuable guidance throughout the project. Thanks are also due other members of the NAE staff, including Dale Langford, Penny Gibbs, Maribeth Keitz, and Bette Janson for their able work on the symposium and the publication.

Partial funding for this activity has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Aetna Life and Casualty Company. Primary support was provided by the National Academy of Engineering Fund.

Robert M. White

President

National Academy of Engineering

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1994. Product Liability and Innovation: Managing Risk in an Uncertain Environment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4768.
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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.

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