Regulating safety

In Roman law and medieval law, there were officials who went round inspecting markets and punishing traders for poor quality goods or dishonest practices. In modern times, the need was greater for inspection to prevent unsafe products getting onto the market.

In 1903, the American Food and Drugs Administration was created and similar rules were established in England in 1905 and France in 1907. The purpose was to investigate the safety of products before they caused injuries. Standards were established for cars from around 1910. Breaches of those standards that caused harm might well give rise to liability.