Monday, March 26, 2012

Question of the Week: Falling Down

Running too quickly on an icy sidewalk in front of a neighbor's house, you slip and break your leg. Would you be likely to sue the owner of the house if you were confident you could win the suit because of his negligence in shoveling the snow?

No. For two reasons. First of all, frivolous lawsuits are a good chunk of what's wrong with our system. Would medical costs and insurance premiums be so crazy high if people didn't sue everyone else at the drop of a hat? Probably, but I imagine all the lawsuits don't help the matter. Next, and more importantly, this is my neighbor's house. This means he's living in the same neighborhood that I'm living in. That means we probably fall somewhere in the same socioeconomic bracket. I know I don't have any money. Why should I believe my neighbor would have any either?

*Question of the week comes from The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock, Ph.D.

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