For want of a nail, a horseshoe was lost; For want of a shoe, a horse was lost; For want of a horse a message was lost; For want of a message, a battle was lost; For want of a battle, a kingdom was lost. All for the want of a three penny nail.

If you were the manufacturer of the defective nail, how much of the value of the lost kingdom would be your fault?

Just by way of tying this to the real world -- I just had a conversation with an attorney in which I brought up this example. I am currently dealing with a case involving alleged breach of warranty and the question is how far do damages extend? Just to replacing or repairing the component that failed? To replacing the entire unit that failed due to the part? Paying for shipping of failed customer units? Lost profits on lost sales?