I have no doubts about the public safety concerns. I'm in a different aspect of public service but the community benefit still ranks very highly in everyone's mind - it's what keeps people involved in lower paying roles - the public role they serve (plus a little more flexibility).
There's history in other industries though - Ford is famous for the Pinto in the 70's. The fuel tank was susceptible to bursting into flames if ruptured in a collision. They had worked out it would be cheaper to fight / pay out compensation than delay production / recall the vehicle to fix the problem.