In this seminal book, Harvard professor Kip Viscusi uses economic evidence in addition to legal analysis to examine the product liability system. Viscusi makes extensive use of empirical data to demonstrate the manner in which America's product liability rules hurt both defendants and plaintiffs. Contrary to those who attribute recent problems in civil justice to a reliance on strict liability, Viscusi instead cites the rise in mass toxic torts, the doctrine of design defect, and the expansion of suits regarding warnings as the causes of the liability crisis.