Y 4.073/7: S.hrg.99-733 S. HRG. 99-733 PRODUCT LIABILITY VOLUNTARY CLAIMS AND UNIFORM STANDARDS ACT CIS RECORD ONLY: HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSUMER OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, NINETY-NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION S. 1999 TO REGULATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE BY PROVIDING FOR A UNIFORM PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. FEBRUARY 27, MARCH 11, 1986 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office DOCUMENTE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION BOB PACKWOOD, Oregon JOHN C. DANFORTH, Missouri, Chairman BARRY GOLDWATER, Arizona BOB KASTEN, Wisconsin ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii J. JAMES EXON, Nebraska JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia W. ALLEN MOORE, Chief Counsel and Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSUMER BOB KASTEN, Wisconsin, Chairman (II) WENDELL H. FORD, Kentucky JOHN C. DANFORTH, Missouri CONTENTS Opening statement by the Chairman Opening statement by Senator Pressler Opening statement by Senator Kassebaum. Carone, Richard, representing the Independent Business Association of Wisconsin and Small Business United; Marshall S. Shapo, professor, Northwestern University School of Law; Jeffrey O'Connell, professor, School of Law, University of Virginia, accompanied by Keith Davidison, chairman-elect, American Bar Association, section of tort and insurance practice; Deborah R. Hensler, Rand Corporation, Institute for Civil Justice; Deborah M. Chalfie, Goffman, Joseph, staff attorney, Public Citizen/Congress Wach; Patrick J. Head, Prepared statements: Mr. Head. Mr. Connor.. Owen, David, professor, School of Law, University of South Carolina, Victor E. Schwartz, counsel, Product Liability Alliance; Gene Kimmelman, legislative director, Consumer Federation of America; Stephen Lyons, group general counsel, Borg-Warner Corp.; Theresa Schwartz, professor, George Washington University Law School; and Lislie Cheek, vice president, Federal affairs, Crum Wainwright, J. Kenneth, Jr., litigation counsel, Allied-Signal, Inc.; Andrew F. Popper, American University, Washington College of Law; Pamela Gilbert, staff attorney, U.S. Public Interest Research Group; and Liberty Mahshigian, Page 175 178 183 Burger, Dr. Edward J., Jr., director, Institute for Health Policy Analysis, Georgetown University Medical Center; Lawrence B. Novey; and E. Donald Mack, James H., public affairs director, National Machine Tool Builders Assn.; Prepared statements: Mr. Mack. Mr. Green.. Nuzzaco, Mark J., government affairs director, National Printing Equipment & Weill, Hans, professor, Tulane Medical Center; Dr. Bruce Karrah, representing the Chemical Manufacturers' Assn.; Leslie F. Nute, director, legislative affairs, Dow Chemical USA; and Dr. D. Steven Lamm, Consultants in Epidemiology 230 232 241 246 254 American Insurance Assn., sttement.. 299 Bevis, R. M., president, Hemco Industries, Inc., letter 278 Braswell, Glenn E., president, Flexible Packaging Assn., letter 276 Cheek, Leslie, vice president-Federal affairs, Crum & Forster Insurance, Cos., 272 Mullin, Tracy, senior vice president, government affairs, National Retail 282 PRODUCT LIABILITY VOLUNTARY CLAIMS AND UNIFORM STANDARDS ACT THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1986 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSUMER, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:35 a.m., in room 253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Bob Kasten (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Staff members assigned to these hearings: David Zorensky, staff counsel; Andrew Koppelman, professional staff member; and Amy Bondurant, minority staff counsel. OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR KASTEN Senator KASTEN. The committee will come to order. Today the Senate Consumer Subcommittee begins the first 2 days of hearings on S. 1999 and related product reliability reform proposals. S. 1999 is in a sense a combination of efforts that we have been making with Senator Danforth's leadership to add a new concept of a limited compensation system to S. 100 which is the bill that has been the vehicle that a number of us have been working through from S. 44 to S. 100. Now we are looking at an overall vehicle which includes parts of both. We are considering this product liability bill at a time when the need for reform has never been greater and has never been more apparent, because of the current crisis with respect to the cost and the availability of liability insurance. I might say that the need for reform has also never been more apparent with the small business community and I, along with Senator Weicker and others, have been having a series of hearings concurrent with these in the Small Business Committee as well. Like other members of Congress, every time I go back to my home State of Wisconsin, I hear story after story of skyrocketing insurance rates and of well established manufacturing firms that must go bare or discontinue operations because they can no longer obtain liability coverage. Because of the urgency of this problem and because of its impact on all Americans, members of Congress are now seeking solutions to the liability insurance crisis. Many of them seem to be recognizing, as I have for a number of years, that reform of the tort system, (1) |