The Ford Pinto,
one of the most popular cars of the 1970s, had a lethal defect. Dozens of
people were killed in crashes because of a faulty design that left the gas tank
unprotected and vulnerable to explosion. Government an Ford didn’t protect
consumers. Internal company documents showed that Ford knew it could fix the
problem with $11 per car. But executives calculated that it would be more
profitable to leave the vehicle unchanged and pay victims.
It took a civil
lawsuit along with litigation on gas tank hazards in other cars to bring about
requirements for improved gas tank safety and cause manufacturers to redesign
the placement of gas tanks. Nearly 300 people were killed in crashes caused by
tread separation of tires.
Trial lawyers
also used the civil courts to help expose the problems with cars manufactured
by Toyota, General Motors and other manufacturers that caused hundreds of
deaths and injuries as vehicles suddenly sped out of control.
Even air bags were
equipped on only 2% of new vehicles in 1988. But after more than a hundred
lawsuits alleged manufacturers knew that thousands of deaths each year were
because of the absence of air bags, and manufacturers began losing in court or
paying settlements.
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