Can companies be held criminally liable for knowingly producing unsafe products?

Question

In my Public Admin class we discussed how when Ford created the Pinto in the 60s it knew that it would explode when in collisions at 25 mph.

Ford also knew how to fix the problem, but performed a cost benefit analysis for the product liabilty (including funeral costs) vs. the cost of making the car safe.

Why didn't the Ford execs go to jail? And would the execs been criminally posecuted today?

Answer 1

Did they tell ya the real phuquen deal ford engineers built the safest car ever made in the pinto the fuel tank had a bladder it was a good car but the puke phuque bean counters said all the inovations would be too costly to produce and put out the piece o shiit we ended up with and yes those coque suckas should have gone ta phuquen jail since that time though product liability laws have become so stringent that even a guy producing a good product aint safe from prosecution sorry for the phuquen profanity but I'm watchen the departed it rubs off

Answer 2

YES! Companies can be held criminally liable. And just so you know, nothing has changed since the 60's. If anything it has gotten worse. The crooks have put their cronies in office and they veto anything that is adverse to them getting the bucks. People have lost their lives in a great many instances and a pittance was paid to their heirs either as compensation or for them to drop their case. To avoid having to pay out big bucks, the auto industry came up with the lemon law. The problem is that everybody doesn't know they have a lemon until it is too late (death). The recall is another fiasco. They give YOU the patch and send you on your way. We have come down to "If it makes it off the line then that's a sell".

Answer 3

yes, sad to say these things happen in the real world. the world revolves around lawyers and the law. most corporations retain a large legal staff as they are being sued many times every day.
if you did what you suggest the economy who collapse overnight and the companies would all be bankrupt.
I worked for Ford long enough to get my retirement and I still can hear the bosses say " Good enough for a Ford" so just like every other big corporation. Quantity before Quality wins out ever time.

Answer 4

Companies can be held criminally liable for producing any product that causes harm to an individual even if it was not the fault of the product but the harm was produced by misuse of the product. Companies do not knowingly produce products that will harm the consumer because the consequences are too costly.

Answer 5

The big problem is that you must prove that the company knew that the product was unsafe. Hard to do when you are up against a large corporation. Perhaps they would be prosecuted to day, but again, they have the money for the lawyers & the proof is up to the acuser.

Answer 6

sure!!!! this would be a great question in my opinion i think of it is against the regulation equivalent to a pre pondered homicide! there is no explanation for a individual to knowingly transmit a damaging sickness to somebody else. this got here up in an ethics type i took and a few human beings felt that a each and every year HIV attempt could be mandatory of ever US citizen I dont comprehend how i've got confidence approximately that however

Answer 7

Your complaining about cars produced in the 60s? Since the pinto no longer exists other than in people's yards, what's your point?

Answer 8

No of course they wont go to jail... think about tobacco companies or liquor manufacturers or even MacDonald's...they all know their products aren't safe but they sell them anyway and are never held accountable.

Answer 9

Yes. Today I think they would have gone straight to jail, but I think for some reason, back then, there was no precedent for top executive to go to jail for the misconduct of the company.

Answer 10

Anybody who has lots of money
can be held liable.