An Injury Law Constitution

Book excerpt: An Injury Law Constitution presents a novel thesis that embraces leading features of the American law of injuries. The book argues that the body of law that Americans have developed concerning responsibility for injuries and prevention of injuries has some of the qualities of a constitution - a fundamental set of principles that govern relations between human persons and between individual persons and corporate and governmental institutions. This 'injury law constitution' includes tort law, legislative compensation systems like workers compensation, and the many statutes that regulate safety of activities and products including drugs, medical devices, automobile design, and pesticides. Professor Shapo's analysis, into which he weaves the history of these systems of law, is then linked to the unique compensation plan devised for the victims of the September 11th attacks. Professor Shapo writes about how our injury law reflects deeply held views in American society on risk and injury, indicating how the injury law constitution is a guide to the question of what it means to be an American. Setting aside easy academic formulas, An Injury Law Constitution captures the reality of how people respond to injury risks in functional contexts involving diverse activities and products.