Your post raises more questions than it answers and I think that is a great thing. In cases of deaths, there should be criminal negligence trials that should determine possible punishments.
I agree that people holding public office should not constantly be worrying about getting sued, because they will do as little as they can, so this would stifle progress. But if there are deaths, there should be inquiry into the reasons and if there is some form of illegal behavior including negligence and lax regulation enforcement, everybody responsible should bear some responsibility. Even if there isn't any jail time, maybe they should at least be barred from holding public office.
Thanks for such a well reasoned response. I think eventually there will be some kind of public enquiry to find responsibility.
I hope so. It is interesting how this will be handled and who will get the blame and/or accept responsibility. What usually tends to happen is that blame tends to be put at least a few levels too low down the chain of command for obvious reasons.
Yes.