A woman parks in a no-parking zone at a store, gets out and injures herself falling on black ice; never mind that she violated restrictions. A hot McNugget falls on a child’s lap, causing second- degree burns; never mind that food is supposed to be hot. A man showboats by leaping onto a raft in a pool and becomes paralyzed; never mind that he probably would have jumped anyway regardless of whether or not there was a warning label on the raft. It’s always somebody else’s fault.
Now we learn about lawsuits being filed over a slide (“2 more lawsuits target Mammoth Park’s Giant Slide,” July 6, TribLIVE). The insanity will never end as long as people continue to receive unjustified money. Simply file a lawsuit at no cost and hope a jury is dumb enough to award the jackpot. It has become the American way.
Most litigation is on a contingency basis, which means win or lose, there is no financial risk to the plaintiff. This is why we see so many lawsuits being filed. The defendant incurs all the risk. Even if a defendant wins, it’s still a loss because money must be spent on defense.
Changes should be imposed to eliminate these ridiculous lawsuits that have no merit. Maybe if the plaintiff was forced to incur equal risk, there would be less exploitation of the court system — perhaps a law that when the plaintiff loses, he or she is required to reimburse the defendant for legal fees and expenses. That would put an end to this madness.
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Robin L. Rosewicz
Lower Burrell