Do the high amounts often awarded by juries as punitive damages in product liability cases indicate that juries are out of control, or that manufacturers are producing an inordinate number of defective or unsafe products?

Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit,  Punitive damages cannot generally be awarded in contract disputes.

I hope this kinda helps!

i think it can have both positive and negative effects on businesses.

for example:

lets say you own a small business and taxes go up 4% that means it is going to cost your business more money to buy product to sell. but at the same time you make more money from the tax rise.

that is my theory.