Changing America with Lawsuits

Lawsuits can and do have deleterious effects on the American Society. Today, most people regard the lawsuit as a way to game the system for money. Any businesses that willfully and knowingly harm people should be the object of civil lawsuits. The lawsuits that I am referring to in this piece are those that are harmful to both the American way and to society in general.
Before giving standing to a lawsuit, the actions taken by the plaintive as well as the motives of the defendants must be a part of the equation. I'll admit that some mistakes are tragic, but should not be regarded as a ticket to be rich nor a reason to send the defendant into bankruptcy.

Negligence is the common thread in most injury and medical malpractice lawsuits. These types of lawsuits are the cause celeb for tort reform. But look at the consequences of what these lawsuits have done to the fabric of America.

After two years of injuring her finger, a girl in Lubbock, Texas filed suit against a water park. Texas Water Rampage the only water park in Lubbock has gone out of business after 22 years because of the lawsuit and other factors.

A truffle shop in California with a small step leading into their shop have been sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act by a patron who claims he is being denied access because there is no ramp for his wheelchair. On Jan. 26, Gorce and his wife, Casimira, were served with an Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility lawsuit, in which the plaintiff, Patrick Connally, claimed he had visited the store on six occasions and was prevented from entering the shop in his wheelchair. The mom and pop truffle shop is now on the verge of going out of business. Financially they have laid off most of their employees in order to be able to defend themselves against the lawsuit.

The list is long and I only present these two examples. Thousands of these type cases are readily available to anyone wanting to take the time to read about them. But from the other side of the argument, when taken with a long view, these lawsuits bring about necessary changes to society and act as insurance against those rascally negligent businesses. That argument certainly has merit. Business owners are closing their doors to avoid crippling lawsuits. Manufacturers are quickly moving their operations overseas because of ridiculous product liability laws. City parks are closing to avoid potential lawsuits.

The Legislature saw fit to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and with one stroke of the pen put thousands of businesses at risk. The Act appropriated no monies to help with compliance of the law, nor did it seek to notify those who might be in violation that they were in violation. Nope, most did not realize that they might be at odds with the law until a lawsuit landed in their lap. The Americans with Disabilities Act is nothing more than an example of 'feel good' legislation that resulted in doing enormous damage to our society. We all pay for such misguided efforts by politicians to ingratiate themselves with minority groups at the expense of the majority.

Medical malpractice suits are a topic for another day, but when the make up our legislatures is made up of lawyers, what else would you expect them to pass. Any law that passes Congress must be vague enough for other lawyers to be able to find grounds to sue.

Cheers,

-Robert-