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RE: product liability (was 'we should all be uncomfortable withthe extent to which luck..')

  • From: Dan Hollis
  • Date: Wed Jul 25 18:59:05 2001 
On Wed, 25 Jul 2001, Chance Whaley wrote:
> Software programmers arent sued when monitoring machines in hospitals
> fail.

Individual programmers might not be sued, but companies have been sued,
successfully.

In the late 1980s there was a string of radiation machine failures due to
software bugs which ended up killing patients.

IIRC when the families of the victims sued, the software company chose to
settle out of court rather than go to trial.

> Look up the work indemnity. There is a reason why it is in most
> boilerplate. In the mean time, I would suggest that people who have no
> concept of the legal system refrain from comment about any of this. The
> concept of this entire thread is nothing more than mental masturbation.

The facts prove you wrong.

-Dan

-- 
[-] Omae no subete no kichi wa ore no mono da. [-]