Is it just me or has the US gone "sue" happy?

it seems like every time you turn on the tv, computer, open the newspaper, etc. someone is suing somebody. lol

normally i try to skip past that stuff and find real news lol

I think it's because nobody wants to take responsibility for their own actions anymore. For example, a woman spills hot coffee on herself, and somehow it's McDonald's fault for serving a hot beverage that's supposed to be hot. Maybe the coffee was hotter than it should have been, but still, if you're too stupid to not spill your coffee on yourself, that's your own fault!

It is actually a function of our recent social revolution. The upcoming gernations are in part materialist, self indulgent and lacking accountability. This is due to a myriad of reason.

Firstly we are defined not by who we are but what we own. This feeds our greed, and links ourselves to things which truely have no worth.

Parenting practices have changed as has the family, in this society fueled by things and credit it isn't uncommon to have two parent household, which by nature are more permissive due to a decrease in supervision. This result in a generation of children reared by TV and the internet. Many turn out just fine, but many lack a moral compass, work ethic and social accountability.

Combine our desire for things with a lack of morality and accountability and the result is a lawsuit. Granted some lawsuits are justified (in the McDonald's case cited the coffee was actually scolding and outside of the restriction of what is safe to serve. Normally coffee is to be served between 135 and 145 degrees, the coffee served to Mrs. Liebnick was 185 degrees, hot enough to cause third degree burns. She actually only sued for $200,000 the jury voluntarily awarded her a few million dollars in punitive damages (which was subsequently reduced))

However cases such as countless people suing McDonalds over causes obesity, that is frivolous. If people can't draw the line between eating fatty foods and getting fat they need to have their heads examined. The fact that some of these lawsuits have been settled in favor of the plaintiff is astounding and a sad social commentary.

Even reading these forums can be saddening at times when you hear questions along the lines of:

"I had surgery and they left a big scar, can I sue?"
"My neighbor has a loud car, can I sue?"
"My child traded their bike for a pudding cup, can I sue?"

To Mark K, that old "bat" had severe second degree burns all over her lap from the spilled coffee, which had no reason to be that hot, other than McDonald's wanted decided that the consumer might like it a bit better if their coffee stayed hotter longer. That was legitimate.

Yes, the US has gone sue happy, but this is not a recent event. What you don't realize is that the majority of the litigation in the US is initiated by corporations. They're not the victims of lazy ne'er do wells, as their PR firms would have you believe.

Sounds about right. That is why we attempted to push Tort reform.

Clinton vetoed it.

The democrats have been filibustering it ever since.

It is estiamted that 40 - 50% of car insurance costs are from lawsuits.

It is estimated that 50% of medical costs are from law suits.

A doctor pays in excess of $100,000 per year in medical malpracitce insurance.... due to lawsuits.

It started when the Saudi's/Persians came here and brought with them the tradition of being able to sue anyone for anything. There are legitimate court cases that have God as the defendant... I kid you not.

you just noticed? It's been the biggest single US legal issue for at least 20 years. No, not related to the famous McDonald's coffee story, it started long before that.

Very much so. That's one reason you can't walk into a doctor's office without paying 100$.

"real News" thats funny.

its been that way since the 1980's, when some old lady sued McDonalds because she was burned byy the coffee when the old bat spilt it on her lap, she got 2 million dollars

Its more like lazy people looking for a fast buck.