Because Firestone has been a party to litigation and receives complaint data from a number of sources, it has had first-hand knowledge of the tire problem and of the hazards imposed when tread separations occur at highway speeds. As you know, many vehicle owners are simply unwilling to wait for an announcement and are replacing their tires in order to assure their safety, regardless of whether they have to pay for them. Like it or not, in the U.S. litigation is a key driving force behind improving product safety. We frequently hear jokes about lawyers and our litigious society. What we don't often hear is why litigation is an important aspect of product safety and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.
Federal laws mandate minimum safety requirements for various goods and products.
Regardless of the stringency of these requirements, government agencies were not set up to protect consumers from the hazards that may exist with all types of products. While government standards set the lowest possible level of safety that a product must meet in order to be sold in the U.S., the ultimate responsibility of product safety falls on the maker of the product. Compliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard does not presumptively mean that the design chosen by a manufacturer is safe. At the same time, they have to ensure that those technologies do not have unintended adverse side effects under real world conditions. This idea that a producer and seller of a product must insure its safety and fitness stems from statutory law written by the U.S. Congress.