Protecting the Public: Legal Issues in Injury Prevention

Injury--both violent and unintentional--is the greatest threat to public health in America today. Many, if not most, injury prevention measures involve the use of law. These laws range from federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to state seat-belt use laws to city smoke detector ordinances. Protecting the Public: Legal Issues in Injury Prevention is the first comprehensive study of this important area of the law. Written by renowned experts in the field, the work describes the strengths and weaknesses of injury prevention laws. It examines how the courts have dealt with a variety of legal challenges to injury prevention laws, including challenges based on the laws' apparent interference with the free exercise of individual rights. Relevant issues such as whether or not compulsory motorcycle helmet laws violate constitutional rights, and whether gun control laws reduce gun violence are addressed in this book. The book also demonstrates how civil litigation in the form of private lawsuits is sometimes an alternative means of inducing injury prevention measures. The effectiveness of injury prevention laws are also reviewed. Public policy issues are explored and the philosophical and economic objections to such laws are explained. Throughout the book, Christoffel and Teret have skillfully interwoven excerpts from legal opinions and research studies into their lucid text. Their book will be an invaluable guide for lawyers, health professionals, public health administrators, policymakers, community activists and all those involved in protecting the public through injury prevention laws.