Just Sue Everyone!

That'll be how we curb LIFE. (long rant)

Let's sue everyone for everything. In today's society we can blame our personal problems, lack of self-control, stupidity or genetic makeup on everyone else.

When a doctor who went to college for 34 years makes a small mistake.. Just sue him. When your OB/GYN gets caught in traffic and you have to have someone else deliver your baby, just sue her. When your hair dryer seems to send shocks up your spine as you try to use it while taking a shower, sue the company. When McDonald's gives you coffee and you put it between your legs as you drive off, just sue them if it burns you.

This past week my wife and I became directly affected by junk lawsuits against good Doctors. Now, yes bad things happen. Yes a person should have the right to sue for reasonable damages and no I am not saying we should eliminate the right of the consumer to protect their family from big companies or big medicine. (That's out of the way, okay?)

What I am saying is that my wife and I will now be delivering our child at a hospital across town because the OB/GYN who has been delivering near our home is now consolidating to only 1 hospital in our area. We now will be driving to a hospital about 20 minutes away from the hospital near our home (approximately 3-5 minutes). Why did this happen? Because over the last year 30 OB/GYN doctors in Hampton Roads have left the profession or left this area because of rising insurance costs. Our doctors at "The Group for Women" now have an overloaded system on their hands. They are forced to consolidate to 1 hospital because they just can't risk driving to several places with the amount of patients they now have.

So what do we get when we allow junk lawsuits? We get less Doctors. We get longer waits and drives. We get less personal care b/c our doctor has 1300 people to attend to. We get crowded facilities. We get the raw end of this deal.

On a related front, I read this afternoon a story that solidifies this position that something has to change. Over at Rambling's Journal I read this story about a kid who's suing the city of Orlando after he fell 80 feet while attempting to jump from one parking garage to another. Yes... He's SUING the city of Orlando. You know what his claim is? ""There was a very, very short length of fence that was completely ineffective in preventing this from happening," D'Assaro (the attorney) said.

Hold on... "a very, very short length of fence"? He's suing (and probably will win in our society) because the city's fence (which did exist 8 stories up) was too short?

I don't know... How about the fact that your client tried to jump from one parking garage to another while 8 stories in the air caused him harm, not the size of the fence? Where does government entitlement end and personal responsibility begin?

I would ask if this kid bumped his head but that would be rhetorical. I'm more concerned about the Florida bar that gave this lawyer a license and this kid's parents who are encouraging the suit. Okay mom and dad, your teenage son tries to play Matrix and after you pick up Humpty Dumpty you call a lawyer? They should be sued for child endangerment for letting their child think that this is the City's fault.

My point: We (at the grass roots) have to push for an "Ownership Society". Own your home, own your car and yes own up to your mistakes. Own your decisions. Own your stupidity. We all have it from time to time. We all get mental hick-ups. Just don't go suing everyone and making the rest of us pay the price for your lapse in judgement. Again, if a suit is merited I'm all for it but frankly our legal system currently needs some Drano.