Williams Waxes on Waning Rule of Law

Williams Waxes on Waning Rule of Law

Walter E. Williams: Trashing rule of law

One such doctrine of tort liability is the assumption-of-risk doctrine. Simply put, the assumption-of-risk doctrine holds that if the user of a product or service is aware of the danger, and nevertheless proceeds to make use of the product or service and is injured by it, he is barred from recovery. In other words, assumption-of-risk doctrine holds that people bear some accountability for the results of their actions.

As a result of the successful lawsuits against tobacco companies, assumption-of-risk doctrine is a skeleton of its past. For decades, under our traditional tort regime, if a plaintiff knows the risks of smoking, yet still smokes and contracts a tobacco-related illness, he had no claim against the tobacco manufacturer. That's all changed. The courts have all but said that it's the tobacco company, not the smoker, who's responsible for the smoker's plight.

Americans are quite pleased with the success of the political and legal attack against an unpopular industry. They're pleased by smoking regulations and the near confiscatory cigarette taxes levied in the name of protecting children and recouping health-care expenses. In some jurisdictions, taxes have made a pack of cigarettes sell for $7, and predictively a flourishing black market, along with its associated violent crime, has emerged. The question I ask is: Will Americans be just as happy if the cigarette attack is carried to other products? . . . .

Abandonment of assumption-of-risk doctrine means Americans pay more, and will pay even more, for the goods and services. When we ski, we risk breaking a leg -- but since we have diminished responsibility, the higher liability insurance premiums paid by ski lodges translate into higher lift ticket prices.