This seems like a good situation to try re-writing some incentives. Are there any lawyers who can comment on whether the FDA could be sued for wrongful death if any baby did starve? Are any rationalists members of parents’ groups who could be persuaded to attempt such a lawsuit? This seems like the sort of situation where loudly and publicly threatening to sue the FDA and cause them massive bad publicity might actually cause a change in policy—the FDA probably prefers changing policy to being sued, even if the lawsuit’s odds of success are only 50:50.
The FDA, like most federal agencies, has immunity for most liability. You cannot sue them for approving a drug that kills someone, you cannot sue them for failing to approve a necessary drug. You cannot sue them for misrepresentation or incompetence, regardless of harm.
Federal prosecutors may be able to charge individuals at the FDA with fraud or crimes, if egregious enough. But I don’t know of it ever happening, and it would not happen without pretty significant evidence of malice rather than just incompetence or misaligned incentives.
This seems like a good situation to try re-writing some incentives. Are there any lawyers who can comment on whether the FDA could be sued for wrongful death if any baby did starve? Are any rationalists members of parents’ groups who could be persuaded to attempt such a lawsuit? This seems like the sort of situation where loudly and publicly threatening to sue the FDA and cause them massive bad publicity might actually cause a change in policy—the FDA probably prefers changing policy to being sued, even if the lawsuit’s odds of success are only 50:50.
The FDA, like most federal agencies, has immunity for most liability. You cannot sue them for approving a drug that kills someone, you cannot sue them for failing to approve a necessary drug. You cannot sue them for misrepresentation or incompetence, regardless of harm.
Federal prosecutors may be able to charge individuals at the FDA with fraud or crimes, if egregious enough. But I don’t know of it ever happening, and it would not happen without pretty significant evidence of malice rather than just incompetence or misaligned incentives.
Random search turned up https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/28/business/fda-official-faces-us-charges.html so it does happen. It does seem rare.