Sometimes it’s the plaintiff’s fault; sometimes stuff just happens

Annuit Coeptis ^ | Sept. 14, 2010 | James H. Shott

[James H. Shott]

A major landmark along the road of America’s devolution from a nation of responsible individuals to becoming a people looking for someone to blame for their problems is the ridiculous nature of cases that now clog our legal system.

Let’s stipulate that sometimes people are negligent in making a product, in delivering a service, or in some other way, and when innocent people are harmed through negligence they should be compensated for their injury. Maybe a surgeon operates on the wrong knee, or a company makes a product that is defective, or some other instance of true negligence occurs. In such cases a wrong needs to be righted and perhaps legal action is the only way to remedy the wrong.

But these days, you can find someone who wants to sue somebody for just about any idiotic thing you can dream up, and there seems always to be a lawyer willing to represent them. Don’t believe it? Consider the following:

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[texas booster]

• A New York City woman was awarded $14.1 million by a state Supreme Court jury after she was hit by a subway train as she was patiently laying on the tracks in an apparent suicide attempt. Later, the reward was cut 30 percent, to a mere $9.9 million, because of her own “negligence.”

This is far from the only idiotic case like this. Burglars who fall through skylights they intended to bust out to gain entry, or get stuck in chimneys etc.

What next, sue paramedics for not assisting in suicide, or helping a suicider live through it?

[wmileo]

The entire town of Jim Thorpe PA is being sued by his children. They want the Body back after it has rested in a burial site and memorial for 56 years. They claim that the body constitutes Native American Artifact which must be returned to The SAC and FOX tribal land in Oklahoma. They are using a law which was passed in 1990, more than 35 years after Jim Thorpe's wife decided to make an arrangement with the towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk to consolidate and use the name of Jim Thorpe.

This is the type of law suit which represents a living nightmare for a small town. It is similar to being sued by the ACLU for having a nativity scene on the lawn of a town hall at Christmas but the consequences are much more serious.

Completely missing from the entire argument is the right of a married person to decide where his/her spouse is to be buried.

I will bet you will not see the ACLU come out and support that right.