Injury control and product liability

Injuries and deaths caused by faulty design of man-made products are epidemic. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 1977 more than 9 million people in the United States required emergency-room treatment for injuries received from consumer products (1). This figure excludes injuries by motor vehicles, farm machinery, and many other products. The etiology of these product-related injuries is not obscure, nor are preventive methods lacking, but often they are not implemented. We know, for instance, that tap-water scalds in bathtubs and showers could be eliminated by limiting the maximum temperature achievable by hot-water heaters or requiring the installation of antiscald devices (2). Similarly, air bags in cars would drastically reduce the incidence of injury and death resulting from crashes (3), but air bags are still not available in automobiles.