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htss2013

What exactly are you referring to about suing for a lot of money if an adulterant is found?

Is there a specific law that specifies damages? Because if not, it probably falls into the same civil framework as everything else where the amount of money sought has to be proven as proportional to damages. Unless it severely sickened you, it'd be difficult to quantifiably prove the damage that sawdust caused you.

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In the US specifically, it is class actions that make it expensive. If someone accidentally or deliberately puts lead in the flour supply, then that can probably be traced to tens of millions of cakes given to tens of millions of people.

And a good prosecution would be able to prove that while a small amount of lead didn't cause noticeable symptoms to anyone, there is plenty of evidence that across populations lead causes higher criminality, lower IQ, lower earnings, etc. And therefore, as a class, these people have been harmed by an actual dollar amount.

Oh you meant lots of money for the lawyers, not the people whose food was adulterated, because in every class action I've ever seem, the payout amounts per person are never enough to change anyone's life. But the lawyer taking 1/3 of the sum total does well.

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