Dalkon Shield (From Stains on a White Collar: Fourteen Studies in Corporate Crime or Corporate Harm, P 92-117, 1989, Peter Grabosky and Adam Sutton, eds. -- See NCJ-122651)

• NCJ Number: 122657
• Author(s): P Cashman
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Federation Press (Distributed by Gaunt)
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

The product liability litigation in Australia regarding the birth control product called the Dalkon Shield has raised several questions concerning the conduct of corporations and the legal responsibility of corporate officers and the role of governmental and regulatory control.

Abstract

The case has also raised issues regarding the role and ethical responsibilities of both corporate and plaintiffs' lawyers and the substantive and procedural rights of consumers, corporations, and shareholders. The product initially appeared to be safe, but its side effects included life-threatening illnesses and complications, including some deaths. Its American manufacturer continued to sell it in Australia and other countries even after its withdrawal from the United States market, however. Currently more than 7,000 Australians are suing the company. The case has highlighted the limitations of the Australian legal system and has placed major strains on United States courts. It has raised the question of whether the courts and the regulatory system should be more concerned with preventive rather than remedial measures, whether Australia should establish a National Consumer Product Safety Commission, and whether class-action compensation are preferable to individual awards of compensatory and punitive damages. Other issues are whether legal uniformity is needed between Australian jurisdictions and whether alternative dispute resolution is preferable to court-based litigation for determining questions of fact and liability. 26 reference notes.