Companies that make mistakes merely pay fines.
Here you will find that an ejection seat failure in a UK Red Arrow Air Force plane merely resulted in a fine (plus a death.) This cost over a million pounds.
He said: “Martin-Baker were aware of the defect more than 20 years ago, and it took Sean’s death for the issue to come to light.
“We can only hope they have learned a lesson and that no-one else goes through this hell because of faulty equipment.”
Here you will find that (among many other drug companies) GlaxoSmithKline paid a fine for promoting drugs for unapproved uses.
No individuals have been charged in any of the cases. Even so, the Justice Department contends the prosecutions are well worth the effort — reaping more than $15 in recoveries for every $1 it spends, by one estimate.
But critics argue that even large fines are not enough to deter drug companies from unlawful behavior. Only when prosecutors single out individual executives for punishment, they say, will practices begin to change.
Not merely to urinate on British companies, here‘s your US giant Pfizer:
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) on Tuesday said it has reached a $486 million settlement of litigation accusing it of causing big losses for shareholders by concealing safety risks associated with its Celebrex and Bextra pain-relieving drugs.
Remember the exploding airbags? Here you will find out what happened to Takata.
Last year, Takata agreed to plead guilty and pay a $1bn criminal penalty in the US for fraud. Numerous carmakers have reached their own settlements over claims linked to the Takata recall.
Not to forget Volkswagen, here you will find out about the diesel emissions scandal.
As of December 21, 2016, Volkswagen reached a second settlement with the roughly 78,000 owners and lessees of 3.0-liter diesel models. In late January 2017, Volkswagen announced a $1.2 billion program that differs substantially from the $10 billion program for 2.0-liter diesel models. Judge Breyer approved the final settlement amount on May 11, 2017. Currently, only owners of 2009–2012 Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg models with the Generation 1 engine are eligible for buybacks between $24,755 and $57,157. This is because Volkswagen cannot repair them to be emissions compliant. Generation 1 lessees of 2012 vehicles can receive between $5001 and $6615 for terminating their leases early. Generation 1 owners who do not sell their cars back to Volkswagen can receive $7755 to $13,880. For complete details, see the court’s handy executive summary.
Let me summarize.
There was public citizen damage in each case above:
- a pilot died.
- drugs were improperly marketed.
- safety risks were concealed – and only stockholders seemed to care.
- dangerous airbags were put in front of citizens as safety devices.
- polluting cars were sold for years.
Nobody went to jail. This not fine. It is a disgrace.