Cotter Ladder Company

MANAGERS ETHICAL DILEMMA #2

                                                                         Hannah Mrinalini Meesala

Background

Monica Long a product liability manager for Cotter Ladder Company is baffled by the fact that consumers from different states who used the same product that is the Cotter Ladder and have sustained the same injuries had significantly different rules governing them for recovery. She had heard that a federal product liability bill had been introduced in Congress. If the bill is passed it would wipe out the different state product liability laws and replace them with one law. Should she support the federal product liability law?

Issues

1. Different laws in different states for the same injury type leading to different compensation plans.

Assumptions

1. The compensatory damages are different for consumers from California as well as Florida
2. The statutes of limitations are different for different states.

Stakeholders

1. Monica Long the Product liability manager for Cotter Ladder Company.
2. The consumers from different states.

Possible course of action

1. Stick to the state laws and continue with the processes that are currently being carried out
2. Support the federal liability law that had been introduced in Congress

Opinion and Ethical Implications

I think Monica Long should support the federal product liability law. Currently there is no federal product liability law. Typically, product liability claims are based on state laws, and brought under the theories of negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty. A product liability lawsuit must be filed with the court within the period of time designated by each state. These time limits are called the "statute of limitations." Consumers should be aware of these limitations and be alert and quick in filing a lawsuit within the time frame. Because of how important it is to understand the specific statute of limitation in the state where a lawsuit may be filed, it is mandatory to seek legal advice as soon as possible after suffering an injury. Also few states such as California have implemented acts that limit the recoverable amount for the compensatory damages. In such scenarios consumers from California might be awarded less compensatory damage amount when compared to a consumers from Florida. While this is beneficial for the providers or organizations if the consumers are from California, it’s not the same if the consumers are from other states. Similarly, it is unfair for the consumers as they receive different compensation benefits depending on which state they belong to. If there is one law that is followed across the United States the consumers would not encounter statute of limitations depending on their location and also they would have fixed amounts of compensation that they would receive, and the organizations also would have to pay the same amount across the United States for the same injuries.