Daily Topic: Frivolous Lawsuits
So its been a while since I've posted a food for thought daily topic but I thought I would get people's thoughts on the following:
As a society are we too quick to sue?
This has been a topic of much discussion recently in our house after the dog incident on Sunday and the construction of the pool. It seems like these days everyone is so quick to sue even for things that to us seem frivolous -- i.e. suing McDonald's for making people fat etc. What is it that has made it so acceptable to sue others instead of taking responsibility for your own actions? Is this a sign of the times because so many people are unwilling to taking responsibility?
This lack of responsibility can drive the increased lawsuits both because defendants are unwilling to take steps to remedy problems that they did cause and also plaintiffs want to blame others for their own problems. For example, are people forced to sue a homeowner who maintains a public nuisance at their home (think hole, or chemicals or vicious dog) which causes damage to the neighbors when that homeowner refuses to take responsibility and workout a settlement without having to go to court. The flip side are the people who simply ate too much but need someone to blame for being overweight and so they sued McDonald's.