Frivolous lawsuits are taking over our nation. Whether it be patients suing doctors for malpractice because the pillows in their hospital beds were not fluffed, a cute little grandma waving her finger at McDonald’s for burning her with their coffee, or bitter cheerleaders suing their coach for cutting them from their squad (all of these are real by the way), our judicial system is constantly being bombarded with these and similar cases.
Surely I am not trying to say anything bad about the attorneys in our great nation, because we do have some spectacular ones-I would even like to be one myself-but why is it that so many of them are willing to take on these cases and waste the time of our courts? Where do we draw the line between trying to make a point and stand by our convictions and just being completely and utterly immature and selfish?
Yes, getting cut from your Cheer Squad was, I’m sure, a heart-wrenching and difficult experience, but did you ever stop to think that perhaps your coach cut you because there were girls who were better than you? Is being bitter a good enough reason to file a lawsuit?
Clearly, some cases are different. There are times when doctors truly are severely at fault for making a childish yet costly mistake. Women across the country are discriminated against in the workplace, and a slew of other violations of our civil rights take place daily. These are times when people should step up and search for compensation where it is rightly due.
However, in the same way that going to war and putting our troops in harm’s way should be a last resort, filing a lawsuit and using up taxpayers’ hard-earned money should be reserved for those cases that actually have substance. Look how well a violation of the aforementioned has turned out for our nation-continuing in this direction is only going to be another downfall our country has to endure.
Adela Ghadimi is a sophomore majoring in political science and international studies. She can be contacted at a.ghadimi@umiami.edu.