Sunday, May 18, 2008

Tragic? Yes. A lawsuit? Not even close.

When tragedies occur I think it's natural for people to want to blame someone or something for the event. That something could be so absolutely random and without cause or reason is beyond many to comprehend and accept. I would react that way. If something happened to my daughter I would want to blame someone or something. But I hope that I would come to accept what was merely an accident as just that.

I slipped on the ice at work and broke my ankle a few years back. While it was winter, the ice in the parking lot was a result of early morning dew that had become icy. Not because anyone failed to properly react to conditions. I knew it was slippery. I walked carefully taking half steps to the door. But as "luck" would have it, I slipped and snapped my ankle in two. It was a severe break. As a result, I also developed a blood clot in both lungs, and a staff infection. Both put me back in the hospital for treatments.

I never once thought about suing. There was no way I could honestly say someone was "negligent" about the conditions that morning. It was a freak accident. All things considered, I may have been lucky. Remember how Dr. Atkins died?

Well, this is a long set up for this article:

Parents to Sue Maker of Metal Baseball Bats Over Son's Injury


There's no question this is tragic . . . and a hardship on the family. That it happened to a 12 year old boy is all the more sad. But, it's not the bat manufacturers fault. While I sympathize for the family, this stinks. Even if you could make the case that metal bats are somehow partially responsible for this boy's condition, what the sense in suing the Little League and the store that sold the bat?

I'm sorry. This is what's wrong with our society today. If it's not accepting responsibility for our actions, if it's not feeling "entitled" for doing nothing more than being offended or being stupid, then it's needing to sue someone because we can't make money off of fate. I don't want to see this family lose everything as a result of this accident. But, why then should a company be forced to close putting out of work dozens of workers . . . or another family lose everything because they lost their store, or the Little League suffer as a result of a tragic twist of fate?

Time and time again we have seen tragedies happen and have seen society respond. Reach out and people will respond accordingly with an out pour of sympathy and support.

Go about it this way and you may end up with nothing.

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