Bus 415 How does tort law impact consumers and businesses Essay

Bus 415 How does tort law impact consumers and businesses - Essay Example Despite the creation of tort law, as we know it today, there are many individuals in society who believe that businesses are unfairly targeted by malicious civil cases by consumers looking for a quick (and unjustified) buck. The outcomes of tort cases can have significant impacts on the average consumer, as what might be interpreted as frivolous lawsuit payouts are often passed back to the consumer in the form of retail price increases or the addition of various service fees. Why is this done? Businesses who are forced, by an active judgment, to pay out large sums of money to consumers for any variety of wrongdoing usually attempt to recapture these lost revenues by adding additional costs to the consumer. However, in many instances, it would appear that the consumers who bring up a lawsuit against a business actually do have a very valid case by which to provide evidence that a wrongdoing has occurred. First, it has been said that the only real responsibility of todays American businesses are to earn profit and satisfy the stakeholder and shareholder (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2005). Under this assumption, a business which is unable to provide ample profit due to excessive tort payouts, would obviously not be providing this social responsibility to its investors. How, then, does the business maintain profitability when its revenues are paid out to alleged greedy consumers looking to make a fast buck? Most interesting is the well-known case of the old lady who sued McDonalds for burns received by a hot cup of coffee. In this case, the woman received burns to 6% of her body after spilling the contents of her styrofoam cup on her inner thighs and genital regions. After much professional scrutiny, it was determined that McDonalds did not carry ample warning information on their coffee to-go cups and that they had further experienced over 700 complaints from other