Publications

Product Liability

Publications are listed in chronological order. Learn more about ICJ's research by visiting the Research Agenda page on Product Liability. Additional related publications may be found in the lists of Research Briefs and Executive Summaries.

Punitive Damages and Deterrence of Efficiency-Promoting Analysis: A Problem Without a Solution? Steven Garber, RP-920 (originally published in Stanford Law Review, Vol. 52, No. 6, July 2000), 2000 (Ordering Information) Argues that socially worthwhile risk or benefit-cost balancing is strongly deterred because evidence of such behavior by corporations often leads to assessment of punitive damages.

Establishing a Good-Faith Defense to Punitive-Damage Claims John W. Martin, Jr., P-8048, 2000 (Ordering Information) Argues that establishing a good-faith defense to punitive damage claims in product liability suits would help deter conduct that results in unsafe products by targeting the actions of senior management, rather than that of their employees.

Product and Stock Market Response to Automotive Product Liability Verdicts Steven Garber and John Adams, RP-794 (originally published in Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics, 1998), 1999 (Ordering Information) Examines the effects of product liability trial verdicts on company stock prices and on new vehicle sales.

Newspaper Coverage of Automotive Product Liability Verdicts Steven Garber, Anthony Bower, RP-809 (originally published in Law and Society Review, v. 33, no. 1), 1999 (Ordering Information) Examines newspaper coverage of product liability verdicts from 1983 to 1996 and its effects on the behavior of litigants, judges, juries, legislators and business decision-makers.

Product Liability, Punitive Damages, Business Decisions and Economic Outcomes Steven Garber, RP-747 (originally published in Wisconsin Law Review, v. 1998, no. 1, 1998), 1998 (Ordering Information) Argues that the current product liability system is haphazard as a deterrence mechanism, and that punitive damages magnify both good and bad deterrence effects.

The Real World of Tort Litigation Deborah R. Hensler, RP-702 (originally published in Everyday Practices and Trouble Cases, A. Sarat, et al., editors, Northwestern University Press, 1998), 1998 (Ordering Information) Summarizes legal theorists' aspirations for tort liability and the role of the liability system.

Estimating Liability Risks with the Media as Your Guide: A Content Analysis of Media Coverage of Tort Litigation Daniel Seth Bailis and Robert J. MacCoun, RP-606 (Originally published in Law and Human Behavior, v. 20, no. 4, 1996), 1996 (Ordering Information) A content analysis of 249 articles from Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, and Business Week during 1980-1990 examined the representativeness of popular media coverage of tort litigation.

Understanding Mass Personal Injury Litigation: A Socio-Legal Analysis Deborah R. Hensler and Mark A. Peterson, RP-311 (originally published in Brooklyn Law Review, v. 59, no. 3, Fall 1993), 1994 (Ordering Information) The civil justice system has not responded well to the challenge of handling mass torts, and many innovations have been proposed to improve processing of these cases; this article examines the broader context in which these innovations must function.

What We Know and Don't Know About Product Liability Deborah R. Hensler, P-7775 (testimony delivered to the Consumer Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee), 1993 (Ordering Information) An edited transcript covering five topics: trends in product liability; the nature and extent of product-associated injuries and the rate of claiming associated with these; the role of the tort liability system in compensating injuries; the effects on manufacturer behavior; and the need for additional information about the product-liability phenomenon.

Product Liability and the Economics of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Steven Garber, R-4285, 1993 (Ordering Information) Examines the economic effects of product liability on firms producing drugs and medical devices, drawing on empirical information from a wide variety of sources, simulations, and interviews at three major pharmaceutical companies.

Asbestos Litigation in the United States: A Brief Overview Deborah R. Hensler, P-7776 (October 1991 testimony to the Courts and Judicial Administration Subcommittee, United States House Judiciary Committee), 1992 (Ordering Information) Summarizes the scope of asbestos litigation in the United States, the response of the civil justice system to date, and the obstacles to efficient and equitable resolution of asbestos-related personal injury claims.

Framing the Compensation Inquiry Elizabeth S. Rolph, RP-115 (originally published in Cardozo Law Review, vol. 13, no. 6, Apr. 1992) 1992 (Ordering Information) Offers a way to organize our thinking about the tort system from a larger perspective by developing a conceptual framework for all publicly-mandated compensation systems or programs that can account for structure, coherence, and the wide variations in acceptable outcomes that we observe in these arrangements.

Giving Away Money: Comparative Comments on Claims Resolution Facilities Mark A. Peterson, RP-108 (originally published in Law and Contemporary Problems, v. 53, no. 4, Autumn 1990), 1992 (Ordering Information) Considers how the structures and operations of claims resolution facilities have related to their relative success.

Assessing Claims Resolution Facilities: What We Need to Know Deborah R. Hensler, RP-107 (originally published in Law and Contemporary Problems, v. 53, no. 4, Autumn 1990), 1992 (Ordering Information) Proposes an agenda for research on claims resolution facilities, the results of which could assist in improving the current set of facilities and fashioning better alternatives for the future.

The Economic Consequences of Expanded Corporate Liability: An Exploratory Study Peter Reuter, N-2807, 1988 (Ordering Information) Presents a framework for analyzing how expanded corporate liability might affect such outcomes as productivity and international competitiveness and offers some preliminary evidence on the impact of expanded liabilities on the behavior of corporations.

Product Liability and the Business Sector: Litigation Trends in Federal Courts Terence Dunworth, R-3668, 1988 (Ordering Information) Analyzes the product liability litigation that occurred in federal district courts from mid-1973 through mid-1986 in an attempt to clarify the debate over the effects of product liability litigation on U.S corporations.

Trends in Tort Litigation: The Story Behind the Statistics Deborah R. Hensler, Mary E. Vaiana, James S. Kakalik, and Mark A. Peterson, R-3583, 1987 (Ordering Information) Considers three issues at the heart of the tort ligation debate and suggests that discrepancies among the statistics can be explained by the fact that there is no single tort system.

Trends in California Tort Liability Litigation Deborah R. Hensler, P-7287 (testimony presented before the California State Legislature's Assembly Select Committee on Insurance), 1987 (Ordering Information) Covers trends in liability litigation over the previous decade, including the notable rise in personal injury lawsuits.

The Debate over Jury Performance: Observations from a Recent Asbestos Case Molly Selvin and Larry Picus, R-3479, 1987 (Ordering Information) Describes an interview conducted with the jury that decided an asbestos products liability case in Texas in 1984.

Summary of Research Results on the Tort Liability System Deborah R. Hensler, P-7210 (originally presented as testimony before the Consumer Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in February 1986), 1986 (Ordering Information) Summarizes five areas of ICJ research: trends in civil jury verdicts, effects of product liability lawsuits on corporate behavior, public expenditures to process tort liability lawsuits, special problems posed by mass toxic lawsuits, and the use of ADR procedures for resolving tort cases.

Summary of Research Results on Product Liability Deborah R. Hensler, P-7271 (testimony originally delivered in October 1986 to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee), 1986 (Ordering Information) Summarizes the results of empirical research on four topics relevant to the discussion of the product liability system.

Costs and Compensation Paid in Tort Litigation: Testimony Before the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress James S. Kakalik and Nicholas M. Pace, P-7243 (testimony presented before the subcommittee on Trade, Productivity, and Economic Growth of the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress on July 29, 1986), 1986 (Ordering Information) Summarizes preliminary results of research undertaken to provide empirical evidence on tort litigation costs.

Evaluating Civil Claims: An Expert Systems Approach D.A. Waterman and Mark A. Peterson, P-7073 (originally published in Expert Systems, vol. 1), 1985 (Ordering Information) Describes the authors' current work in applying expert systems, a sophisticated form of computer modeling, to describe reasoning involved in settlement of civil liability claims.

Designing Safer Products: Corporate Responses to Product Liability Law and Regulation George C. Eads and Peter Reuter, P-7089 (originally published in the Journal of Products Liability, v. 7, 1985), 1985 (Ordering Information) Analyzes ways in which firms have responded to recent changes in pressures to design safer products, based on interviews with product safety officials in major manufacturers and extensive analysis of legal and scholarly literature (excerpting from R-3022).

Asbestos in the Courts: The Challenge of Mass Toxic Torts Deborah R. Hensler, William L.F. Felstiner, Molly Selvin, Patricia A. Ebener, R-3324, 1985 (Ordering Information) Presents the results of a study of how the civil justice system has dealt with the challenges presented by asbestos litigation.

Variation in Asbestos Litigation Compensation and Expenses James S. Kakalik, Patricia A. Ebener, William L.F. Felstiner, Gus W. Haggstrom, and Michael G. Shanley, R-3132, 1984 (Ordering Information) Analyzes characteristics of individual asbestos litigation claims that explain variation in compensation and expenses.

Designing Safer Products: Corporate Responses to Product Liability Law and Regulation George C. Eads and Peter Reuter, R-3022, 1983 (Ordering Information) Analyzes ways in which firms have responded to recent changes in pressures to design safer products, using interviews with product safety officials in major manufacturers and extensive analysis of legal and scholarly literatures.

Costs of Asbestos Litigation James S. Kakalik, Patricia A. Ebener, William L.F. Felstiner, and Michael G. Shanley, R-3042, 1983 (Ordering Information) Examines the money spent to resolve asbestos-related injury lawsuits: who pays it, who receives it, and for what purposes.

Costs and Benefits of the Tort System if Viewed as a Compensation System P. Munch, P-5921, 1977 (Ordering Information) Compares the costs of operating the tort liability system for four major branches of tort law: product liability, automobile liability, workers' compensation, and medical malpractice.

Search for more RAND publications

Go to the Research Agenda page on Product Liability