Strict Liability: Legal and Economic Analysis

by Frank J. Vandall

Overview

This volume presents a cogent analysis of the legal and economic consequences arising from expansion in the doctrine of strict liability and the corresponding decrease in the importance of proving fault. Vandall's goal is to illuminate the role of strict liability in the largely unheralded and informal development of the American compensation system. To this end, he examines and explains the widening of strict liability during the last 121 years, with particular emphasis on the past 29 years.

Vandall begins with a historical overview of strict liability, arguing that the policies which have supported the growth of strict liability within products liability also support its application in other areas. By comparing and contrasting the U.S. and British compensation systems, he shows that the U.S. has been drawn towards the adoption of strict liability because it lacks socialized medicine. Subsequent chapters set forth various tests for strict liability and critique the negligence-efficiency theory. Turbaning to a discussion of contemporary practice, Vandall sets out the present scope of strict liability and asserts that a case can be made for the extension of strict liability far beyond the area of products liability. Finally, Vandall evaluates the reforms aimed at strict liability over the last ten years and concludes that the suggested returban to negligence is unwarranted and not supported by facts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780899303963
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/06/1989
Pages:	195
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

FRANK J. VANDALL is Professor of Law at Emory University. He wrote Police Training for Tough Calls and numerous articles appearing in the Denver Law Review, International Legal Practitioner, Toledo Law Review, Emory Law Review, Wisconsin Law Review and the Indiana Law Jourbanal, among others.

Table of Contents

Preface
Strict Liability: A Historical Perspective
The Reasons for Strict Liability
Strict Liability: A Substitute for Socialized Medicine
Strict Liability Defined: Nine Tests
Problems with Negligence-Efficiency Theory and with Traditional Negligence
The Present Scope of Strict Liability
Applying Strict Liability to Professionals: Doctors and Lawyers
Applying Strict Liability to Professionals Having Little Discretion: Pharmacists
The Backlash: Proposed Reforms to Strict Liability
Indexes