I grew up on the cusp of the lawsuit lottery culture.  Lawyer shows just started to flood the air waves and warning labels began showing up on things like explosives and buckets.  Sure we all got a kick out of the stencil on the side of the bucket with the baby halfway in it but it really was a sign of the times.  The fact that this warning was on the bucket meant that someone has sued the bucket manufacturer for something similar.

When I was younger we could just pick any patch of grass to make a football (and soccer) field.  We were not hassled by the owners, provided we did not destroy the field.  For the next few hours we ran around hitting each other as hard as possible without starting a fight and went home for dinner.  But for the next few years we were chase off of one field after the other.  We were chased off of some fields for reasons other than liability concerns of course.   12 kids using your land for a wrestling match tends to make anyone nervous.

By the time I was in high school the kids younger than I had their field selections cut down to a few school yards.  Two fields that were now restricted were done so because insurance for the property would not insure the land, because someone could sue if their kid broke their leg.  Tragic but stuff happens.

My point about all of this post is this article about the storm in London.  The buses that ran throughout the blitz are stopped not by snow itself but by the threat of lawsuits.  Instead people are forced to fend for themselves in a society that depends on public transportation. 

“I think the public are prepared to go out, but the bus drivers and the
companies won’t drive if there’s even the tiniest risk of the bus skidding
and people being injured,” Tracey said. “Government legislation, European
legislation and all that, that’s what stops these things.”

I guess I should begin with a joke about lawyers.  What do you have when you have a lawyer up to his neck in cement?  Not enough cement.  Lawyers have their place.  They play their part to hold people accountable.  Unfortunately we have too many lawyers all competing for too few legitimate lawsuits.  Supply and demand strikes again.

If a kid breaks his leg on your lawn because you put a trap door in the middle of your lawn then you deserve to get sued, but if the kid is playing football then you don’t deserve to get sued.  The kids took the risk and take the consequences. 

Things would be so much better if people just took responsibility for what they do or don’t do.  Sometimes this means a corporation puts a better warning on something that is not common-knowledge  or you don’t spill your hot coffee on your crotch.