Until, that is, the consumer is injured. Then, in the eyes of other consumers, he or she becomes a frivolous litigant, reaching into consumer pocketbooks.
Actually, if the companies providing the injuries cared a little more about people than they did about profits, consumer pocketbooks would be pretty safe. Then, again, there's nothing like a little blame-shifting to run interference for your greed.
Gasoline cans, for example, have the potential to be extraordinarily dangerous if not designed properly and/or explained properly. Doing so is far cheaper than the cost of trying and/or settling cases. Unfortunately, not every company feels this way.
So called "tort reform" is never really about protecting the economy or the consumer. It is always about protecting the shortest possible path to profits, at the expense of your ancient right for a redress of your grievances. The famous Shakespeare line about killing all of the lawyers was spoken by a character who wanted to do so because of the good that lawyers do.
It's bad enough that we sell away the rights of foreign workers by buying goods made in sweatshops. Are we so craven that we're willing to clip our rights away like they were coupons?
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