Disease and the Compensation Debate

This book looks anew at the tort remedy and reform proposals surrounding the modern debate on compensation for personal injuries. Arguing that serious distortions underlie the debate because of its focus on victims of traumatic accidents, the author calls for the consideration of other legally neglected but highly publicized sources of disability including man-made health hazards such as asbestos, tobacco, and Agent Orange, and socially-spread diseases such as AIDS. This ground-breaking study demonstrates that attention to such crucial issues explodes much of the conventional wisdom about just how to tackle reform and reveals that a fundamental rethinking of the compensation debate is urgently needed.