When in Doubt, SUE!

By RU Contributor Gunship Load

Can someone please tell me when personal responsibility became passé? At what point did it become OK to not have to work for anything? How did it become popular and accepted by society that living off of others was perfectly acceptable? I ask, because there is a generation of Americans growing up that will be deeply offended when they finally learn that nothing is free. They will learn that losers do not deserve trophies. Eventually they will have to learn the most basic rule of the capitalist economy and free enterprise system: You want something you have to work for it. I have learned that hard work is the only way to get ahead. I also know that sometimes luck plays into it, but without the hard work, luck is irrelevant.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the lady that dumped McDonald’s coffee in her lap. She burnt herself pretty bad, and then sued. Initially she was awarded $200k for compensatory damages. Those were later reduced to $160k, because the jury found the accident to be 20% her fault. Also, the jury awarded $2.7 million in punitive damages to her, which was later reduced to $480K. But even after all of that, it wound up being a “secret” settlement amount, and none of us will ever know what she was paid out.

Even before the coffee, America had started down this slippery slope of “Don’t Work, SUE!”

Been injured in a car accident? Have you been exposed to asbestos? Did you have a bad experience with prescription drugs? Have you, or someone you known died? You too should call the law offices of Dick Smack (or some other parasite lawyer), and he will get you the money you so badly “deserve”.

In June 2006, a young man was injured in a Police Athletic League game. Ok, he wasn’t a young man, he was 12. A kid. He was pitching and a batter using a metal bat, knocked one back to the pitcher. Young Domalewski was drilled in the chest, and suffered a heart attack. It was a one in a million chance of it happening that way. He got hit at the exact time that his heart was between beats, and his heart stopped. The shout went out for someone to call 911 after he collapsed. While waiting for EMTs to respond to a 911 call, volunteers were already performing CPR. Unfortunately, he was without adequate oxygen for 15-20 minutes, giving him brain damage. Six years later, a settlement was reached between the Domalewski family vs. the bat manufacturer, Little League Baseball and a chain of sporting goods stores, The Sports Authority for $14.5 million.

So, here is my question(s) to you:

In what way is the bat manufacturer responsible for what happened? It wasn’t a Little League game, so I am at a complete loss as to how they have any responsibility in this one? And The Sports Authority? What, because they are the ones that sold the bat they are now responsible? On what planet does this make any sense? Taking The Sports Authority to court, for a fluke occurrence, because they sold the bat… To me that is about the same as a victim of the Sikh temple shooting suing the store that sold the nut job shooter the gun.

I feel bad for the family and the child who was injured. Their lives will never be the same. I’m no doctor, I’m no scientist. I don’t work as judge and jury for what is right or wrong. I don’t know what kind of medical bills were incurred. I don’t know what kind of suffering he and his family went through. I don’t know how hard the family’s life is. I don’t pretend to know if the settlement was fair, or if it will even cover ongoing bills. I don’t know if $14.5 million is the right number.

My take on it, the bat company did not cause the heart attack. The Sports Authority had nothing to do with it. And Little League, although they do allow the use of some metal bats, damn sure has no responsibility in this mess. It was an accident, a fluke.

If anyone was at fault for this, shouldn’t the parents accept at least a portion of the responsibility? Weren’t they the ones that allowed him to play the game?