Lawnmowers and bicycle forks show why medical malpractice seems so unreasonable

March 30, 2008 in blogging, communication, tort reform

I thought this blog entry had a particularly compelling way of illustrating the problems of liability in today’s legal climate.

Take a look at any lawnmower you buy in the U.S.

What do you see on it?

Every one of them has a stupid sticker on it telling you not to put your hands and feet under that sucker while it’s running. Do we really need that? Is there really any benefit from that? Is anyone who is so stupid that they would put their hands and feet under a running mower, actually going to read such a label?

Of course not. That label is there for one reason and one reason only. It is there because the company making that lawnmower is scarred to death of being sued. I have no doubt in my mind that the genesis of this was some idiot losing a finger or toe at some point in the past and then suing a lawnmower company.

The writer goes on to talk about how the quick release lever for the bicycle fork and front wheel has also been rendered useless due to liability concerns.

It is easy to generate sympathy for unfettered liability since there are real victimizations that happen and such victims need to be protected by the courts. But that truth doesn’t change the fact that our legal culture is often not rational about liability. The evidence is all around us.

Even in lawnmowers and bicycle forks.

hat tip: KevinMD