Small size - large impact - Nanowerk

Richard H. Murray is
Chief Claims Strategist,
Swiss Re, Switzerland
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Liability regimes in a
changing risk landscape
Richard H. Murray
My remarks today will focus on the dynamics of liability systems: How risk events are
processed and determined, and the proceeds of awards distributed by liability regimes.
The risk events will be viewed from the perspective of emerging technologies. Principal
focus will be on the liability regimes of the US and Europe. The scope will include the
actual unanticipated adverse consequences of products and their applications, and the
“phantom risk” concerns spurred by those new technologies that generate social anxieties.
We will discuss the current conditions in liability regimes. Those conditions are
sometimes so bizarre that one could well wonder how they got that way – but this
is a subject for another day. We will address current and prospective conditions
affecting nanotechnology. Many of the examples used will be taken from lessons learned
in asbestos and pharmaceutical litigation. These are current and highly illustrative models,
since those products, like nanotechnology, provide great social benefits with occasional
serious liability exposures. Finally, I will conclude with some observations about the
possibility for mitigating techniques to be applied in reduction of liability risks.
The nanotechnology industry is conducting its research, development and marketing
practices in a reasonable and cautious manner. You are entitled to apply the same
reasonable world hypotheses to the unanticipated risks associated with your activities.
I begin with summarizing what those reasonable expectations might include.
First, you could reasonably expect to establish a valuable and protective developmental
partnership with governments and regulators. In the developmental and preapplication
stages of your initiatives in particular, you should expect: a responsible
partnership for stimulating innovation; a partnership for sharing the responsibility
of making risk and reward assessments about products deserving approval and
distribution; and the support of governments and regulators in providing a liability
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