Thursday, May 24, 2007

Personal Responsibility Anyone?

I can not imagine the horror a person would have to endure while burying a child. Parents are not supposed to outlive their children. Both of my parents are still alive and I dread the day that I lose them, but the loss of my son? I am not sure I could deal with that kind of pain. So, I feel for any parent who has lost a child no matter how that child died (or the age the child was at the time). But while I think that a person would immediately look for someone to blame, I do not think they should immediately file a lawsuit.

Major league pitcher Josh Hancock died last month. He was a victim of a drunk driver. Sadly, he was the drunk driver. Not only was his alcohol level twice the legal limit, but he was "speeding, using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt." His father is suing the bar where Josh was drinking, the tow truck that was stopped in the road and the owner of the disabled automobile that the tow truck had stopped to help. The poor guy's car breaks down and now he is being sued for.. what, manslaughter?

Josh Hancock was 28 years old at the time of his death and had been drinking for 3.5 hours straight according to this story. I don't know about you, but if I have been drinking for 3.5 hours, I take a cab home. Was Josh Hancock unable to afford a cab? Or did it just never occur to him that he was intoxicated? Or did he figure because he was a ML baseball player the rules didn't apply to him?

I don't want to speak ill of the dead. The poor guy made a huge mistake and paid the ultimate penalty for it. His parents must be devastated. But who was really responsible here? Let's not compound an enormous tragedy by punishing someone who does not deserve it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the story fails to mention is that Hancock was offered a cab, but refused it. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/DA7217E8EB66DD11862572CD00151871?OpenDocument

LeftLeaningLady said...

Anonymous,
Thank you! That proves my point even more!

Anonymous said...

this is what I call a frivolous lawsuit... a judge should look at it and say "case dismissed!"

the no seatbelt/speeding/cell phone thing is very common... I drive to work on I-75 every day and I see it all the time... doesn't matter that I try to drive safely if everyone around me doesn't... I am still pissed at the governor of NJ for setting such a poor example...

LeftLeaningLady said...

Isn't the governor of NJ facing criminal charges though? Or did I just pretend to read that? And I was not sure if there was a mandatory seatbelt law in the backseat in NJ. There isn't in FL if you are over the age of 15.