d also be powerful evidence in subsequent civil suits. Because of what was at stake, Ford assembled a high priced legal team compared to the $20,000 that Consentino had to work with. Throughout the ten-week trial both sides argued the question 'Should Ford be held criminally liable for taking profit over lives'. After more than 25 hours of deliberation the jury came back with non-guilty verdict for Ford.2The impact of the criminal trial and all the civil suits that Ford faced was far reaching. First of all it made manufacturers become more concerned with safety in their design. Bob Hunter, president of the National Insurance Consumers Organization, put it best "American manufactures didn't worry about safety until they were forced to consider it kicking and screaming". He says that there is absolute no question that lawsuits have led to safer car designs.4 It also showed that even if the product passes the minimum safety standards a manufacturer should hold safety concerns with the utmost importance.5 Lastly, it gave other attorneys confidence to file criminal charges against a manufacturer if they intentionally sell a harmful product. In conclusion I believe that Ford acted very irresponsible in the design of the Pinto and they should have been held accountable in both civil and criminal cases. They were foolish and morally wrong to take profits over peoples lives. Every engineer can learn a lot about how important product safety is by looking into this case....
