Lawsuit Frivolity?

I got back into the swing of work quickly. I had to get up to speed on some changes and begin talking with the team about still more ideas to be tested. One change that greeted me was that four small desks had been purchased so everyone would have a place to work when the office was full. In addition, a couple new desk chairs had been added – the ones that adjust up and down, swivel, and have casters on the feet for rolling. Now, I have to tell you that the chairs available in Ghana look a lot like what you would see in any office supply store – but I’m here to also tell you that they are NOT.

I was sitting at the desk in the office in one of the chairs that had been added in my absence. My laptop was in front of me and my notebook and omnipresent glass of water were to my left. I leaned to the left a bit to get a closer look at something in my notebook and heard a pop. The next thing I knew I was laying on the floor and my water glass had shattered into so many pieces it is a wonder I didn’t land on any of them. In fact, except for reflexively trying to catch myself with my left foot, the ankle of which I had broken during my 12 weeks in America, I was uninjured. It did get me thinking about product quality, however. I could easily have seriously re-injured my ankle and/or lacerated my hands or arms to the point of requiring stitches.

In the U.S., I have become accustomed to buying things that, even if they are inexpensive, are quite safe and functional. There are consumer advocacy groups, governmental safety regulations, and litigation, all of which serve to ensure that even the least expensive import lives up to a minimum safety standard. If I buy something that does not live up to expectations, I can return it.


The poor of Ghana, on the other hand, pay very steep penalties for their poverty – the products available to them are cheap and poorly made, yet there are no advocacy groups calling the manufacturers to task. There are few regulations governing the safety of imported goods, and litigation because of an injury or death sustained as a result of one of these low-quality goods is virtually unheard of. It isn’t even possible to return something if it doesn’t work properly. And subsequently, if one is seriously injured because of a poorly made product, there is no number to call, like 911, to get an ambulance speeding on its way. Ironically, ambulances here are almost exclusively used to transport dead bodies. Furthermore, for those in poverty, there is no health insurance. Healthcare is delivered when cash is paid up front.

Think for a moment of all the ways you have to handle any of the following situations

• You buy a product and it breaks the third time you use it – what can you do?
• You are seriously injured by a product that was poorly designed or manufactured and did not perform as intended – what can you do?
• You need medical attention as a result of your injury – what can you do?
• You miss work as a result of your injury – what can you do?
• You die as a result of your injury – what can your family do? what will they live on?

Now, imagine that the answer to all these questions is “Nothing”. You’ll suddenly be grateful for the things we take for granted or even think of with disdain, as evidence of “big government” – consumer protection laws, government regulations on manufacturing, safety, and imports, an extensive emergency response system, a judicial system that occasionally puts the rights of the individual above the rights of the corporation, and health, disability, and life insurance – to name a few.
XO