Value of a Statistical Life, the Ford Pinto, and Safety Cases.

In this episode I examine the ethics and practicalities of placing a value on human life. I discuss how

the value of a human life is determined, how it is used, and how it can be misused. We then delve into probably the most

controversial example of safety versus cost trade-off, the Ford Pinto in the case of Grimshaw v Ford Motor Company, 1978.

This episode also features an interview with George Despotou from the University of York. George and I talk about his recent

article, a "First Contact with Safety Cases".

Episode 10 transcript is here.

References

First Contact with Safety Cases

The Myth of the Ford Pinto Case [pdf]

500 Life Saving Interventions and their Cost Effectiveness [pdf]